The White House has rejected claims that United States President Donald Trump wrote a birthday message to a dead billionaire, Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of sexually abusing young girls.
American lawmakers have released what appears to be a letter from Trump to Epstein, a wealthy financier who died in prison in 2019 while facing charges of running a sex trafficking ring.
Epstein was a powerful man who had friendships with many famous people, including presidents, princes, and celebrities. He used his wealth and connections to abuse young girls for many years before he was caught.
The letter was part of a birthday book that friends made for Epstein when he turned 50 years old in 2003. This was years before people knew about his crimes.
The White House strongly denied that Trump wrote the message or drew the picture that came with it.
“President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” the White House said.
The birthday book also contains messages from other powerful people, including Lord Peter Mandelson, who is now Britain’s Ambassador to America. In his message, Mandelson called Epstein “my best pal.”
American politicians ordered Epstein’s estate to give them these documents as part of an investigation into his crimes and the people who knew him.
Trump is facing pressure from his own supporters to release all the documents about Epstein, which people call the “Epstein files.”
During his election campaign, Trump promised he would make these documents public. But after becoming president, he changed his mind and said the case was closed.
The 238-page birthday book contains messages from many important people who knew Epstein before his crimes became public.
The book was put together by Ghislaine Maxwell, a British woman who helped Epstein abuse young girls. She was found guilty in 2021 and is now in prison.
Besides the claimed letter from Trump, there appears to be another message from former President Bill Clinton. Clinton’s office has admitted he knew Epstein but said he knew nothing about the crimes.
The letter that is supposed to be from Trump contains what looks like a conversation between the two men. The final line says: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Prince Andrew, a member of the British royal family, is also mentioned in the book. A woman wrote that through Epstein, she met Prince Andrew, Clinton, and Trump. She also claimed she saw private parts of Buckingham Palace and sat on the Queen’s throne.
Prince Andrew has denied doing anything wrong in connection with Epstein.
When a newspaper first reported about this letter in July, Trump called it “a fake thing” and said he never wrote it. He is suing the newspaper for 10 billion dollars, claiming they lied about him.
Trump and Epstein were friends for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s. They were often seen together at parties and social events. Trump has said they stopped being friends in the early 2000s after Epstein tried to steal workers from Trump’s resort in Florida.
Democratic politicians who released the documents say Trump lied when he said the letter did not exist.
“Now we know that Donald Trump was lying and is doing everything he can to cover up the truth,” said Robert Garcia, a Democratic congressman.
Republican politicians accused Democrats of playing politics with the documents instead of focusing on getting justice for Epstein’s victims.
Epstein was first arrested in 2006 for paying for sex with underage girls. He made a deal with prosecutors and served only 13 months in prison.
He was arrested again in 2019 on more serious charges of running a sex trafficking operation. He died in his prison cell while waiting for trial. Officials said he killed himself, but many people have questioned this.
The case has caused scandal because Epstein knew so many powerful people. Some of his victims have said these powerful people also abused them, though not all have been proven in court.
Maxwell, who helped Epstein find young girls to abuse, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
