Democrats display alleged Trump note to Epstein for 50th birthday

House Democrats on Monday released a screenshot of a note that President Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.

Lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee said lawyers for Epstein’s estate provided the letter in response to a subpoena.

Mr. Trump says the letter is a fake. But lawmakers say it underscores the president’s old ties with Epstein, a disgraced pedophile and financier who died in prison in 2019.

“We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist,” the committee Democrats said on X. “Trump talks about a ’wonderful secret’ the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files!”

The note in question features the outline of a woman’s torso and an imagined conversation between Mr. Trump and Epstein.

“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the note says.

Members of Congress are leaning hard into allegations of sex trafficking against Epstein. Democrats are hoping to highlight Mr. Trump’s past socializing with him, though they haven’t shown evidence of any wrongdoing. Lawmakers recently held a Capitol Hill press conference with Epstein’s victims. 

Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, accused Democrats of politicizing the Epstein situation.

“President Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing and Democrats are ignoring the new information the Committee received today,” he said. “The Committee will pursue additional Epstein bank records based on this new information. Democrats must decide if their priority is justice for the survivors or politics.”

The president says the focus on Epstein is an attempt by Democrats to smear him and distract from his achievements. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported the existence of the birthday note. Mr. Trump promptly filed a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against owner Rupert Murdoch and his media empire.

“These are not my words, not the way I talk,” Mr. Trump said.

The White House responded to the Democrats’ post by criticizing a Journal article about the latest news and arguing the signature in the posted photograph did not look like Mr. Trump’s.

“As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X. “President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”