by Despite his denials that he signed a sexually provocative note and sketch, President Donald Trump’s name was listed as a contributor to a book commemorating the 50th birthday of convicted businessman Jeffrey Epstein.
In 2003, many of Epstein’s friends were requested to write birthday greetings for the leather-bound book, and Trump’s name is included. The New York Times analyzed the list, which includes prominent Epstein colleagues including physicist Murray Gell-Mann, Alan Greenberg, who led the infamous Wall Street firm Bear Stearns, and Leslie Wexner, who was the owner of Victoria’s Secret and other businesses at the time. Both Gell-Mann and Greenberg have subsequently passed away.
An introduction to the book, written by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longstanding partner who is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence for conspiring to sexually traffic juveniles, was also evaluated by the Times.
Before Epstein’s 2008 sex crime conviction, it is well known that Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, Trump has recently attempted to downplay the depth of their relationship in response to harsh criticism of his administration’s unwillingness to make public documents pertaining to government investigations into Epstein.
After The Wall Street Journal revealed on July 17 that he had signed the note and doodle in the book—a leather-bound album that Maxwell had put together to commemorate Epstein’s milestone birthday—the president filed a slander lawsuit against the publication. According to the Journal, the illustration depicts the silhouette of a nude lady with Trump’s signature beneath her waist, implying pubic hair. It cited a hypothetical exchange between Trump and Epstein in which Trump said, “May each day be another amazing secret.”
Trump retaliated on his social media platform, Truth Social, shortly after the Journal’s report was published, claiming that the alleged letter they printed from President Trump to Epstein was a fake.
In a statement released on Thursday, White House spokeswoman Steven Cheung said that Trump had expelled Epstein from his Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, for being a jerk.
According to Cheung, this is merely an extension of the false information that the leftist media and Democrats have been fabricating. Maxwell’s attorney did not immediately respond. Wexner’s representative opted not to comment.
The Times discovered that Trump had previously written Epstein a letter of admiration.
You are the greatest, Jeff! reads an inscription found in a copy of Epstein’s book, Trump: The Art of the Comeback.
The Times studied the note, which was signed by Donald and dated October 97, the month the book was published.
Despite Trump’s attempts to shift the focus, the Epstein files controversy that has consumed Washington this summer is still going strong. Even as House Speaker Mike Johnson attempted to move the chamber toward a summer recess without holding a vote on whether to urge the administration to reveal the information, a key House committee voted on Wednesday to subpoena the Justice Department’s files.
In the week following the Journal’s first article, the uproar around the birthday book has only intensified. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., stated he intended to subpoena the estate to turn up the book after Brad Edwards, an attorney for several of Epstein’s victims, stated on MSNBC on Wednesday night that the book was in the estate’s possession.
In a statement released on Thursday, Epstein’s estate promised to follow all legal procedures.
Maxwell has taken the lead in the drama: On Thursday, she met with a top Justice Department lawyer, though neither the department nor her attorneys revealed the details of their meeting. She has been asked to testify in a hearing in August by a House committee.
The letter purportedly signed by Trump has not been examined by The Times.
“The idea of the book was to gather stories and old photographs to jog your memory about places, people, and different events,” Maxwell wrote in her introduction letter to Epstein, which was printed in black on textured card board.
You will have to read some of the letters to see for yourself, but others will undoubtedly accomplish their intended purpose. I hope that reading the book will bring you as much delight as it did for me to put it together, and I know that you will love it.
She wished Epstein a happy birthday before signing her name.
Epstein and Trump had been friends for years by that point. At least since 1992, when they were together at a Mar-a-Lago party, the two have been together.
A previously unreleased image of Trump and Epstein with musician James Brown was also examined by the Times. The location of the photo is unclear. Trump controlled the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where Brown frequently performed.
Epstein, with a dark blazer and white turtleneck, and Trump, in a suit and pink tie, are positioned on either side of Brown in the picture.
Into the 2000s, Trump and Epstein maintained their friendship. Trump described Epstein as an amazing man in an interview with New York magazine in 2002. According to some, he enjoys attractive women just as much as I do, and many of them are younger, he said. Without a doubt, Jeffrey takes pleasure in his social life.
Several women in Epstein’s inner circle have claimed to have met Trump in the 1990s.
Epstein was seeing Stacey Williams, a former swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated, who said that during their visit to Trump Tower, Trump touched her. Maria Farmer, who later worked for Epstein, claimed that after Trump admired her nude legs, Epstein informed him that she wasn’t there for him.
Trump has already refuted the accusations made by both women.
After the two men fought for a piece of Palm Beach, Florida, real estate in 2004, it seemed that Trump and Epstein’s friendship was over. The future president won and paid $41 million for the beachfront property.
The New York Times was the first publication of this article.
