A packet of documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate released by a U.S. congressional committee includes a 238‑page birthday scrapbook that contains an alleged 2003 message bearing President Donald Trump’s purported signature, sundry sexually explicit submissions from friends and associates, entries from Epstein’s address book and the financier’s 2007 non‑prosecution agreement. The release reopened questions about who in Epstein’s social and professional circles knew of, enabled or profited from his activities.
The Wall Street Journal first reported this summer on a collection of crude drawings, photos and messages given to Epstein for his 50th birthday; the congressional release confirmed the existence of the scrapbook and produced a second page that had not previously been publicized. The White House denies that the signature is Trump’s and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters it is “absolutely not” the president’s signature; Trump has called the letter fake and has sued Journal reporters, publisher and executives, including News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch, for $10 billion in damages after the story was published.
The scrapbook’s contents paint a picture of a highly sexualized social life and include nudity, explicit references to sexual encounters and drawings that juxtapose scenes of Epstein with young women. Several contributors made crude jokes and sketched sexualized images; some pages reference encounters with young women and female body parts. Submissions are grouped in the book under headings such as “friends,” “business,” “science” and “Brooklyn.”
Beyond the purported Trump note, the release included a separate page that shows Epstein and Joel Pashcow, a member of Mar‑a‑Lago, holding a mock cheque for $22,500 made to appear as a payment from Trump to Epstein for a woman. The caption on that page reads, in part, “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [name redacted] to Donald Trump for $22,500.” The committee has not presented evidence that Trump originated or authorized the image or caption.
The documents also shed new light on the timeline and nature of Epstein’s relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and has been prosecuted for lying to investigators, previously told prosecutors she met Epstein in 1991 and that neither she nor her family had heard of him before then. Several entries in the scrapbook, however, include references that could place Epstein in professional orbit with Maxwell’s family earlier than that date. One note by Elliot Wolk references Epstein as a “star salesman” in 1970 and asks, “Was that when you first discovered the Maxwell teenage daughter.” Another submission mentions a post‑college Europe trip that ended with Epstein’s return from London accompanied by “a beautiful British babe,” whose name is redacted; that entry has been read by some observers as a possible reference to Maxwell. The documents do not conclusively alter established timelines but add material that investigators and historians will likely examine further.
The birthday book also underscores persistent questions about the origin and accumulation of Epstein’s wealth and how he established ties to influential figures. Contributors included notes and doodles from individuals long associated with Epstein, including Les Wexner, founder of The Limited, and Leon Black, the private equity executive. Wexner’s entry contains a doodle; Wexner has denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he severed ties after discovering misappropriation of funds. Black acknowledged paying Epstein for advice on trust and estate planning. The scrapbook entries, however, do not produce a definitive accounting for how Epstein became wealthy or how he cultivated relationships with wealthy and powerful people.
Also provided in the materials were copies of Epstein’s address book, containing contact details dated from 1990 to 2019 for celebrities, royals, fashion designers, business leaders, socialites and politicians. Names appearing in the book include former President Bill Clinton, former British cabinet minister Lord Mandelson, and attorney Alan Dershowitz, among others. Appearances in the address book or in congratulatory notes are not, in themselves, evidence of criminal conduct or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes; representatives for several named individuals either declined to comment or said their associations were limited.
The documents highlight the role of Epstein’s assistants, girlfriends and employees in both his social life and, according to prosecutors in the Maxwell case, his criminal operation. One typed entry filed under “Assistants” recounts a woman’s life change after working for Epstein, listing global travel and meetings with high‑profile figures. Prosecutors have argued during trials that some aides were both facilitators and victims; the materials provide additional contemporaneous references that investigators say could help in reconstructing how Epstein’s networks operated.
The broader packet includes Epstein’s last will and testament and the 2007 non‑prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, documents that have been central to civil and criminal questions about how federal and local authorities handled Epstein’s earlier cases. The congressional release is likely to be reviewed by investigators, journalists and litigants as part of ongoing scrutiny into how Epstein built influence and which associates may have been aware of or complicit in his abuse.
Committee officials said the materials were provided as part of oversight inquiries; the release does not itself allege criminality by people whose names appear in the scrapbook. Law enforcement agencies and private lawyers continue to examine the contents alongside earlier evidence, depositions and trial transcripts. The newly available pages of the birthday book add detail to the public record about Epstein’s social milieu and raise fresh questions about the reach of his connections and what contemporaries may have known when his crimes were not yet widely exposed.