House Democrats on the Oversight Committee on Monday released a 2003 birthday message from Jeffrey Epstein’s papers that contains cryptic phrases and a signature reading "Donald," renewing controversy over the former president’s past associations with Epstein. The White House and President Donald Trump have denied the note’s authenticity, and Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, which reported on the document earlier.
The note, which Democrats said was part of a private album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday, opens with the line, "There must be more to life than having everything," a sentence that matches the opening of Maurice Sendak’s 1967 book "Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must Be More to Life." The message contains other phrases Democrats and some media reports say echo language the Journal and others have attributed to Trump, including the lines "Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?" and "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday, and may every day be another wonderful secret."
The Journal published a handwriting analysis concluding that the "Donald" signature matched samples of Trump’s past writing and flagged stylistic similarities between the letter’s heavy-marker strokes and cityscape doodles the former president has produced for charity auctions. The birthday message also contains a marker-drawn illustration that traces a curving, hourglass female form. Some observers have noted that signatures on Trump’s known artwork do not match the signature on the Epstein note.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president’s legal team would "continue to aggressively pursue litigation." "As I have said all along, it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it," she said. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the note, has stood by its reporting; Trump has responded by filing the defamation suit seeking $10 billion in damages.
The letter’s apparent literary reference drew attention because Sendak’s work has intersected before with images tied to Trump in later books. Sendak’s 1993 book "We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy," a picture book addressing social issues, includes an illustration showing children outside Trump Tower. The connection between the note’s opening line and Sendak’s text has been highlighted by lawmakers and media analysts as one of several unusual elements in the message.
Reporting by the Journal and the Oversight Committee describes the album as a compilation of photographs, drawings and personal notes solicited by Maxwell for Epstein’s birthday. The emergence of the note comes amid broader scrutiny of Epstein’s network and the people who associated with him in the 1990s and early 2000s. The release by Democrats follows prior public attention to Epstein’s circle and ongoing legal and congressional inquiries into the financier’s activities and the conduct of individuals in his orbit.
The Journal contrasted the note’s typewritten, theatrical tone and occasional third-person phrasing with examples of Trump’s public speech and writing, saying some turns of phrase appeared consistent with language the president has used in books, speeches and social media posts. Critics and defenders of the president have pointed to that overlap in different ways: some say it suggests authenticity, while others caution that similarity of phrasing alone is not conclusive evidence of authorship.
The conflicting assessments highlight the challenges of resolving questions about a private note two decades after it was created. Handwriting and stylistic analyses can yield differing interpretations; the Journal’s published analysis reached a different conclusion than observers who compared the letter to signatures on Trump’s known artworks and said they did not match.
The release of the note adds to a string of politically sensitive disclosures about Epstein and his associates that have repeatedly returned to public attention. For Trump, who has long disputed reports tying him to Epstein beyond being photographed with him and attending social events, the note has become another flashpoint in a larger legal and political battle over reputation and media reporting.
The Oversight Committee’s publication of the note did not include an independent forensic certification that would settle disputes about authorship. Committee members and the Journal have relied on documentary analysis and expert commentary; the White House has emphasized the president’s denials and legal challenge. The dispute is likely to continue in both court filings and public debate as the parties present competing evidence and interpretations.