Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee on Monday posted on X a handwritten note they said President Donald Trump sent to financier Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday, releasing a copy of material the committee says it obtained from Epstein’s estate after a subpoena.
The signed note reads, "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret," according to the copy posted by the committee. Committee Democrats said lawyers for Epstein’s estate had turned over documents earlier this year in response to the panel's legal demands, and that a birthday book containing the message was among the items sought by the committee’s subpoenas.
The committee issued a legal summons last month for the executors of Epstein’s estate to produce a number of documents, including the birthday book the committee says contains the note. The release of the note follows reporting by The Wall Street Journal in July that described the message; that coverage prompted Trump to sue the newspaper’s reporters, its publisher and executives, including News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch.
At the time of the Journal’s report, Trump denied writing the note, calling it "a fake thing," and saying, "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures." Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said it had "full confidence in the rigour and accuracy of our reporting."
Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was convicted in a state sex-crimes case and later charged in federal sex-trafficking investigations, died in 2019. Documents and testimony related to his activities and contacts have been the subject of multiple civil and congressional inquiries since his death. The Oversight Committee Democrats said the newly released note is part of their effort to obtain and review records relating to Epstein's estate and associated materials.
Republican members of Congress and Trump allies have disputed the authenticity of parts of the reporting about the note and the wider matter, and legal disputes over the documents and public reporting remain active. The committee's release of the note adds a piece of documented material to a public debate that has included sworn testimony, media reporting and litigation.