President Donald Trump said his supposed birthday letter to former friend Jeffrey Epstein was a “dead issue” twice on Tuesday, one day after the House Oversight Committee released a trove of documents related to the late sex trafficker.
Trump declined to comment on the matter.
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“I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue,” he told NBC News. “I gave all comments to the staff. It’s a dead issue.”
On Monday, the Republican-led House committee released records obtained through Chairman James Comer’s (R-KY) subpoena to Epstein’s estate. Comer’s announcement came hours after Democrats on the panel posted an image of the letter that Trump allegedly wrote for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.
The birthday letter features the outline of a naked woman, with Trump’s signature at the bottom. Media outlets have particularly scrutinized his signature, arguing it’s similar to his signature on decades-old letters, including one sent to Hillary Clinton in 2000.
However, the White House said it doesn’t match the president’s current signature as seen in executive orders published in the Federal Register. White House Deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich pointed out the discrepancy between Trump’s presidential and past signatures, floating a possible defamation lawsuit. Trump is already suing the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on the same birthday letter.
Trump’s supporters also rushed to his defense. Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk called Trump’s signature on the birthday letter “fake,” and right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson said Trump should “sue [the Journal] into the oblivion” again.
Trump denied he ever wrote the letter in question.
Ever since the Department of Justice concluded in July that Epstein’s so-called client list never existed, Trump has repeatedly insisted the Democratic Party is peddling the “Epstein hoax” to undermine his second term. He accused Democrats of once befriending Epstein and traveling to his infamous island, saying they are only interested in uncovering the truth now that he’s president again.
“This is merely another Democrat HOAX, just like Russia, Russia, Russia, and all of the others, in order to deflect and distract from the great success of a Republican President, and the record setting failure of the previous Administration, and the Democrat Party,” Trump recently wrote on Truth Social.
“The Department of Justice has done its job, they have given everything requested of them,” he continued. “It’s time to end the Democrat Epstein Hoax, and give the Republicans credit for the great, even legendary, job that they are doing.”
JEFFREY EPSTEIN 50TH BIRTHDAY BOOK WITH TRUMP NOTE TURNED OVER TO HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Despite its self-created debacle surrounding the Epstein files, the DOJ has been complying with the House Oversight Committee’s requests regarding the release of Epstein-related records. Just last week, the committee published over 30,000 pages of DOJ files on Epstein.
Meanwhile, some House members are working on a measure compelling the DOJ to release more files on Epstein. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) are leading a discharge petition to try to force a vote for a full release of the Epstein files. The discharge petition must reach 218 signatures to force a vote on the bill. The petition stands at 216 signatures, with four Republicans signed on.