The White House is facing mounting controversy following the publication of a letter President Donald Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday.
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal released an image of the 2003 letter, which was reportedly submitted to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by attorneys representing Epstein’s estate. The letter appeared to bear Trump’s signature, raising immediate scrutiny given previous denials of its existence.
The Trump administration, which had consistently rejected claims that such a letter existed, quickly moved to dismiss the report. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, insisting the story was fabricated.
“The latest piece published by the Wall Street Journal PROVES this entire ‘Birthday Card’ story is false,” Leavitt wrote. “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
Leavitt did not provide specific details to counter the authenticity of the document. Instead, she criticized reporter Joe Palazzolo, accusing him of requesting comment only at the time of publication.
The revelation has also reignited political debate. California Governor Gavin Newsom drew attention to Vice President JD Vance’s earlier remarks dismissing reports of the letter as baseless. In July, when the letter was first mentioned publicly, Vance labeled it “complete and utter bullshit.”
“Where is this letter?” Vance wrote at the time. “Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?”
The emergence of the document now places additional pressure on the White House as questions about its authenticity — and the administration’s shifting narrative — continue to unfold.
“This aged nicely,” Newsom wrote Monday in a post on X.
