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The Republican-led House Oversight Committee said Monday it has obtained documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate — including the disgraced financier’s so-called “birthday book,” which Democrats claim contains a letter President Donald Trump allegedly signed for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.
Ranking Democrat Robert Garcia posted an image on X of the page Democrats say is attributed to Trump. The letter, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, has been a point of fierce dispute.
🚨We got the Epstein note Trump says doesn’t exist. Time to end this White House cover-up: https://t.co/AWfDqLESkF
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) September 8, 2025
Trump has denied writing the note, calling it “fake,” and last month filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones. “Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION!” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X, echoing Trump’s claim that the image is forged.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also dismissed the signature, insisting Trump’s legal team will “continue to aggressively pursue litigation.” Dow Jones, for its part, defended the story, saying it has “full confidence in the rigor and accuracy” of its reporting and vowed to fight the lawsuit.
The Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Epstein estate in late August, demanding financial records, flight logs, calendars, and a copy of the birthday book by Sept. 8, 2025. The book reportedly collected letters, notes, and tributes for Epstein’s milestone birthday.
According to a Justice Department interview transcript, Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that Epstein directed her to coordinate contributions to the book, though she said she could not recall whether Trump submitted one. Maxwell, convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and related charges, is serving a 20-year sentence and continues to maintain her innocence.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. He died by suicide in a New York jail cell a month later while awaiting trial.
The renewed focus on Trump’s alleged connection comes as the Oversight Committee last week released tens of thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents, most of which were already public.
Brad Edwards, an attorney for many Epstein survivors, criticized Trump’s handling of the controversy. “He told the public the Epstein story should ‘go away,’ yet filed a $10 billion lawsuit that only magnifies the very issue he wants silenced,” Edwards told ABC News. “With today’s release, the least he could do is withdraw that lawsuit and publicly apologize to the journalists he attacked.”
Democrats say the subpoenaed records are a step toward transparency. But Trump’s allies in the White House insist the letter is a fabrication and part of a smear campaign.
The Oversight Committee has not yet said whether it will release the full birthday book or the newly obtained financial records.
