The Epstein Birthday Letter Looks Really Bad For Trump — And Republicans Are Panicking

On Monday evening, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee released a cache of documents containing a shocking image: a lewd birthday note apparently written by the president of the United States to America’s most notorious sexual predator. President Donald Trump had previously denied the letter existed and sued the newspaper that first reported its contents. The documents released by House Republicans destroyed the president’s lie. What does House Speaker Mike Johnson, the leader of House Republicans, think of the letter, which consists of fewer than 100 words on a single page? “I haven’t had a chance to even look at it,” Johnson told HuffPost on Tuesday morning. “I’ve been a little busy.”Johnson’s excuse was one of several hard-to-believe responses from Republicans to the revelation of what appears to be a birthday note Trump wrote to Epstein, his former friend, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. Though their statements varied, Republicans remained united in their desire to deflect blame from Trump. Dodging questions about the president is a high tradition among Republicans on Capitol Hill, and their skills in topic avoidance may be increasingly needed as the House barrels toward a possible vote on a bill releasing the Justice Department’s full files on Epstein. The White House’s main response to the letter has been to call it fake, claiming Trump’s signature is different on official documents, even though it’s seemingly identical to other instances of Trump signing only his first name. The White House has provided no other reason to doubt the letter, which the president’s lawyers previously told a court had been “concocted” because “no authentic letter or drawing exists.”The note was part of a 2003 birthday book assembled by Epstein’s sex trafficking accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, in honour of the now-disgraced financier’s 50th birthday that year. It includes notes from Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and a few other prominent people. Many of the messages hint at Epstein’s sexual proclivities. The note that Trump apparently sent Epstein imagines a dialogue between a “Donald” and a “Jeffrey” talking about how they have “certain things in common.” The typewritten text is surrounded by the marker-drawn outline of a female body. “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the note says. 🚨🚨HERE IT IS: We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist.Trump talks about a “wonderful secret” the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files!— Oversight Dems (@oversightdemocrats.house.gov)2025-09-08T18:53:08.878ZFor Republicans, Trump’s denial is all they need, even if the denial has shifted from the letter not existing to the letter being fake. “I trust what the president said,” Representative Jim Jordan told reporters. “And the Oversight Committee’s looking into it.”But it’s not clear if the Oversight Committee will investigate a supposed forgery. Representative James Comer, the chair of the committee and the author of the subpoena that brought the birthday note to light, seemed to want to move on. He said none of Epstein’s victims brought up the letter last week when they met with lawmakers inside the Capitol. “None of the victims, nor their attorneys, were saying anything about, ‘Oh, look up this perfect card to see if it’s legit or not,’” Comer told reporters. “The president says it’s not. I take the president’s word.”A reporter asked how Comer would have reacted if he’d found a similar letter from former President Joe Biden during his investigation of the Biden family’s business deals last year. Comer said he’d passed on investigating photos from Hunter Biden’s computer showing him in apparent sex acts with prostitutes, none of whom were alleged to be underage. “Hunter Biden’s laptop had all that stuff in it, and I didn’t go there. We focused on following the money,” Comer said. (One member of Comer’s committee, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, displayed some of the photos from the Biden laptop during hearings.)Comer demanded the birthday book in a subpoena to Epstein’s estate, issued partly in response to demands for transparency from right-wing media figures furious that the Trump administration had backtracked on past promises to release the Epstein files. Other Republicans deflected questions about Trump’s letter by pointing to more convenient facts. Representative Eli Crane noted none of the Epstein victims who visited Capitol Hill last week said they ever saw Trump involved in wrongdoing in the course of his friendship with Epstein. “I would base any ideas I have on that from listening to the victims that were up here talking about how they never saw President Trump act inappropriately or be involved in any of that,” Crane said. Several Republicans noted the Biden administration hadn’t taken any action on the Epstein matter. “This is not about politics, but actually about justice for victims of crime, because I know that’s what my Democratic colleagues have been so concerned about for five years, when they said absolutely nothing about this,” Representative Mike Lawler said. Representative Robert Garcia, the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, said the White House was clearly lying in denying that Trump had written the letter to Epstein, with whom he was photographed repeatedly for years. “Everyone knows that letter is from the president,” Garcia told HuffPost. “It’s pretty clear that whatever shared secret they had amongst themselves, and the way that that picture was drawn, I think, it’s pretty disturbing. We have a lot of questions about what the president was talking about. Jeffrey Epstein called Donald Trump his best friend for 15 years.”Representative Jared Moskowitz, who once mocked Comer’s investigation of the Biden family by displaying a giant photo of Trump and Epstein during a hearing, said the committee should ask handwriting experts to analyse the letter and other examples of Trump’s signature. “You don’t have to listen to James Comer, who, you know, got an online degree in signatory,” Moskowitz said. “Let’s have an expert look at it.”The House Republican who has pushed hardest for a full release of the government’s files on Epstein, Representative Thomas Massie, offered a similar suggestion. “Get one of those experts on Pawn Stars to check this signature like they do the Mickey Mantle signatures,” Massie told HuffPost. “There are forensic experts — they could probably tell you with high certainty whether that’s an original or not.”Massie and Moskowitz were joking, but the White House seems to like the idea, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Tuesday the administration would welcome signature scrutiny from forensic handwriting analysts. “Sure, we would support that,” Leavitt said. “The president did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter, and that’s why the president’s external legal team is aggressively pursuing litigation against The Wall Street Journal, and they will continue to.”

Comments

Breaking news

Teenage girls among four accused of murdering man over crack cocaine row

Metro

Leaked royal letters reveal Prince Philip's 'fatherly', 'loving' side as Gyles Brandreth claims he was unfairly viewed as 'unsympathetic to his daughter-in-law'

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Samantha Cameron's fashion firm folds: Brand worn by Kate and Queen Camilla offering 'urban uniform for busy women' never turned a profit

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Meet Italy's VERY glamorous potential First Lady: Former Miss Mexico winner and model Adriana Abascal is Prince Emanuele Filiberto's new girlfriend and 'loves Italians' - as he hints at political comeback

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Trailblazing female army officer, 28, who was first to serve in Household Cavalry and rode in Queen's funeral and King's Coronation is killed in car crash

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

It's brutally unfair but so many women refuse to date a man under 5ft 8in - Now they tell TRACEY COX why in searingly honest confessions

about 2 hours ago

Royal Caribbean passenger jumps off cruise ship to avoid $16K gambling debt

Dailymail

Rhian Sugden admits she's gone into 'full meltdown' after her smear test found 'abnormal cells' as she awaits colposcopy: 'I'm secretly freaking out'

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Poland blasts 'act of aggression' after shooting down Putin's drones amid fears he is testing West's defences in largest escalation yet - days before Russian military begins huge 'European war' drills involving nuke strikes

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Polish PM Donald Tusk vows nation is ready for Russian 'provocation' after eight million people are forced to take shelter during airspace 'violation': Live updates

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Chaos at massive cargo port in Los Angeles as dozens of shipping containers tumble into the ocean

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

The pathetic excuse 'young and dumb' rich kid accused of mowing down wombats in his ute gave for drunken disgrace - as his angry dad unleashes a furious spray outside court

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Rachel Reeves begs ministers to rein in spending to help fill '£50bn' hole in public finances at Budget - with Brits facing more tax hikes as businesses sound alarm

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wows in a figure-hugging black dress while Adwoa Aboah opts for sheer lace as they leave ELLE Awards alongside latex-clad Jess Glynne and Alex Scott

about 2 hours ago

Dailymail

Zookeeper is eaten alive by pack of lions in front of horrified tourists after stepping out of his car at Thai safari park

about 2 hours ago

John Malkovich Names 1 Thing He Regrets About His Affair With Michelle Pfeiffer

Huffpost uk

Comments

Breaking news

Teenage girls among four accused of murdering man over crack cocaine row

M23 closed near Gatwick Airport after ‘serious police incident’

Anthony Bourdain's Hilariously Brutal Take On Trump Is Reminding People How Much They Miss Him

Eurovision 2026: More Countries Cast Doubt On Returning Next Year Amid Israel Controversy

Former MasterChef Host Gregg Wallace Begins Legal Action Against The BBC

Thomas Skinner Walks Out Of Strictly Come Dancing Press Launch

BBC Expert Explains Why Donald Trump Is Being 'Played' By Russia And Israel

More than 60 containers litter sea after falling off ship in Long Beach port

Revolutionising business: AI-driven digital transformation for the future

Gang of masked phone thieves burst into O2 store in violent high street raid

Rachel Reeves urged to ditch Labour pledge not to raise taxes: UK politics live

United Nations to investigate ‘national scandal’ of prisoners trapped on indefinite jail terms

What do subscribers truly want? The answer is simple

Russian drones shot down by Poland is Nato’s most dangerous test for decades

‘Crocodile hunter’ Steve Irwin’s father slams American influencer for reckless crocodile stunts

Novo Nordisk, maker of obesity drug Wegovy, to cut 9,000 jobs to sharpen focus, meet competition

Poland says it shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace during bombardment of Ukraine

Business news live: Contactless card payments £100 cap could be scrapped and interest rates cut unlikely

French police arrest dozens as ‘Block Everything’ campaign causes widespread disruption

Vistry profits tumble as home buyers remain wary

Get the Well Enough newsletter by Emilie Lavinia and make sense of the wild world of wellness

Qatar digs through the rubble of Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Doha

World-first vaccine approved to save koalas from deadly chlamydia epidemic

Voices: ‘A bully’s tool’: Readers slam new home secretary’s ‘desperate’ immigration rhetoric

Australian researchers ask for help from parents, coaches to raise youth concussion awareness

Nato destroys Russian suicide drones in first military clash since Ukraine invasion

Horrifying discovery in walls of new home leaves couple feeling sick

Inquiry into disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel begins as victim warns he must be held accountable

James McAvoy 'attacked by stranger' while in Canadian pub with wife

Scots couple scoop jackpot on BBC’s Pointless

Hamilton bakery to reopen shop following devastating fire

Two children among three dead in English Channel overnight

North Lanarkshire Council’s Rent Assistance Fund continuing to be vital safety net for tenants

Chlamydia vaccine approved for koalas

Woman turns up at hospital with a newborn baby then doctors realise horrific truth

'We went on dream honeymoon - then our dog was killed at boarding home'

‘We booked a flight to Nice - but ended up 495 miles away in Tunisia instead'

M23 closure LIVE: Major UK motorway shut as incident causes rush hour chaos

House that looks like a shed goes on the market for almost £1million

Yellowstone tourists slammed for laughing at 'dancing' bison as expert reveals what was happening

Trump may be powerless over stopping Jeffrey Epstein file release as Democrats are poised to take additional seats

Leaked royal letters reveal Prince Philip's 'fatherly', 'loving' side as Gyles Brandreth claims he was unfairly viewed as 'unsympathetic to his daughter-in-law'

Samantha Cameron's fashion firm folds: Brand worn by Kate and Queen Camilla offering 'urban uniform for busy women' never turned a profit

Meet Italy's VERY glamorous potential First Lady: Former Miss Mexico winner and model Adriana Abascal is Prince Emanuele Filiberto's new girlfriend and 'loves Italians' - as he hints at political comeback

Trailblazing female army officer, 28, who was first to serve in Household Cavalry and rode in Queen's funeral and King's Coronation is killed in car crash

It's brutally unfair but so many women refuse to date a man under 5ft 8in - Now they tell TRACEY COX why in searingly honest confessions

Royal Caribbean passenger jumps off cruise ship to avoid $16K gambling debt

My beautiful niece Iryna was butchered on a train in the video that's outraged America... now we're living in fear

Trump greeted by mob of protesters as he FINALLY eats at a DC restaurant he doesn't own

Rhian Sugden admits she's gone into 'full meltdown' after her smear test found 'abnormal cells' as she awaits colposcopy: 'I'm secretly freaking out'

Poland blasts 'act of aggression' after shooting down Putin's drones amid fears he is testing West's defences in largest escalation yet - days before Russian military begins huge 'European war' drills involving nuke strikes

Polish PM Donald Tusk vows nation is ready for Russian 'provocation' after eight million people are forced to take shelter during airspace 'violation': Live updates

Chaos at massive cargo port in Los Angeles as dozens of shipping containers tumble into the ocean

The pathetic excuse 'young and dumb' rich kid accused of mowing down wombats in his ute gave for drunken disgrace - as his angry dad unleashes a furious spray outside court

Rachel Reeves begs ministers to rein in spending to help fill '£50bn' hole in public finances at Budget - with Brits facing more tax hikes as businesses sound alarm

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wows in a figure-hugging black dress while Adwoa Aboah opts for sheer lace as they leave ELLE Awards alongside latex-clad Jess Glynne and Alex Scott

Zookeeper is eaten alive by pack of lions in front of horrified tourists after stepping out of his car at Thai safari park

John Malkovich Names 1 Thing He Regrets About His Affair With Michelle Pfeiffer

Therapist Reveals How She Responded When Her Daughter Told Her 'The Unthinkable'

I Just Learned Why Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket, And It's Not Why I Thought