White House reiterates denial Trump authored Epstein letter

WASHINGTON: The White House continued to deny on Tuesday (Sep 9) that President Donald Trump had authored a lewd birthday letter to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, after the alleged note was published a day earlier.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July on the existence of the alleged 2003 letter, prompting a US$10 billion defamation suit from the president against the newspaper and its owners.

The letter, a type-written message inserted into the sketched outline of a nude woman, with Trump's alleged signature, was one of many notes sent by Epstein's friends that his associate Ghislaine Maxwell had compiled into a book for his 50th birthday.

On Monday, the House Oversight Committee published a copy of the book and other personal files subpoenaed from Epstein's estate.

"The president did not write that letter. He did not sign those documents. He maintains that position, and that position will be argued in court by his lawyers," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.

Leavitt and other Trump allies contend that the signature on the 2003 letter is not authentic, pointing to differences with documents he has signed since he first became president in 2017.

However, The New York Times on Monday published several letters signed by Trump from the late 1990s and early 2000s, in which his signature bears a striking resemblance to the 2003 letter.

Asked if the White House would approve of a professional handwriting expert reviewing the documents, Leavitt said Tuesday: "Sure we would support that."

Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections around the world, was convicted of sex offenses and found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls.

Trump has been dogged for months by controversy surrounding the late sex offender, after his administration confirmed his death was a suicide and deemed the release of more case files unnecessary, despite having previously fanned long-running conspiracies of covered-up wrongdoing.

Trump's prior relationship with Epstein has also proved to be potent fodder for his political opponents, with the president and his allies seeking to downplay the whole saga as a Democratic "hoax."

After the publication of the letter on Monday, Leavitt posted on social media that "it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."

"This is FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!" she said.

Asked on Tuesday to clarify which aspect was a hoax, given the documents were provided by the Epstein estate, Leavitt said: "I did not say the documents are a hoax.

"I said the entire narrative surrounding Jeffrey Epstein right now that is absorbing many of the liberal cable channels on television is a hoax that is being perpetuated by opportunistic Democrats... who are trying to push this hoax against the president of the United States."