Several House Republicans offered evasive, dismissive or deflecting responses when confronted on Capitol Hill about a purported message attributed to former President Donald Trump in Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called “birthday book,” according to reporting Tuesday.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) told CNN’s Manu Raju that he had not seen the card and declined to examine a copy when it was shown to him outside the Capitol. “I would love to see it matched with his handwriting. It just seems really, really wild —,” Burlison said as Raju began to show him the document, then added, “I don’t want to, I don’t want to see that,” and laughed.
The item in question has been described in reporting as a typewritten message placed inside a crude drawing of an outline of a woman’s body that was included in Epstein’s book marking his 50th birthday in 2003. HuffPost reported the exchanges with lawmakers and characterized some Republican responses as surprising.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told HuffPost he had not had “a chance to even look at it,” saying he had been “a little busy.” Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.) said they would accept the president’s account, while Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) sought to shift attention, saying Democrats had done “absolutely nothing” on Epstein during the Biden administration. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has participated in a bipartisan effort to force a vote on a measure urging the Justice Department to release records related to Epstein, suggested using a handwriting or autograph expert to assess the note’s authenticity.
President Trump, asked about the document Tuesday night outside a Washington, D.C., restaurant, denied that the handwriting was his and rejected the message as unrepresentative of how he speaks. “It’s not my signature. And it’s not the way I speak. And anyone who knows me for a long time knows that’s not my language. And frankly you’re wasting your time,” he said, calling the matter a “dead issue.” A short video of the exchange was shared on social media by journalists covering the event.
The disputed entry stems from material tied to Epstein, the financier convicted in Florida on a state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor, who later died in federal custody in 2019. Interest in Epstein-related documents and records has persisted in Congress and the press, and lawmakers from both parties have pushed for fuller disclosure of investigative files. Massie’s proposal is part of a broader, bipartisan push in the House to require the Justice Department to release records sometimes referred to as the "Epstein files."
At this stage, supporters and critics of the president differ on whether the note reflects his authorship. Republican lawmakers confronted by reporters outside the Capitol varied in their responses, ranging from refusal to view the document to calls for forensic verification and assertions that the president’s denial should be accepted. News organizations that obtained images of the material describe it as a typewritten message alongside a coarse drawing, but media reports and officials have not established the note’s provenance through independent, public forensic authentication.
The exchanges come as scrutiny of Epstein-related materials continues to prompt both political debate and legal questions. Lawmakers pressing for release of records say greater transparency is necessary to understand what federal and state investigators possessed; others have urged caution until documents can be authenticated. The president’s categorical denial leaves the matter contested in public discourse even as some Republicans argued colleagues and the public should defer to that denial pending further verification.