A newly released photo and letter have thrust President Donald Trump back into the spotlight over his past association with Jeffrey Epstein. This latest revelation, tied to a sordid birthday book, keeps the public guessing about the depth of their connection.
According to Daily Mail, a lewd birthday letter allegedly signed by Trump and a photo of a Mar-a-Lago member joking with Epstein about "selling" a woman to Trump for $22,500 have surfaced. These materials, turned over by Epstein’s estate to Congress, were made public by Democrats on the Oversight Committee on Monday, stirring fresh outrage.
The photo, originally from Joel Pashcow, a figure listed extensively in Epstein’s infamous contact book, shows Epstein and a Mar-a-Lago member holding an oversized check with a handwritten caption. That note, reading in part, “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women,” is as tasteless as it is unsettling, dragging up questions about what was really happening behind closed doors at elite gatherings.
Trump’s history with Epstein, documented in photos from as far back as 1997 at Mar-a-Lago, shows a chummy rapport that’s hard to dismiss as casual. Images of Trump alongside Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Melania Knauss at the Palm Beach club paint a picture of familiarity that fuels suspicion even today.
The birthday letter itself, part of a compilation put together by Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, reportedly includes a message from Trump wishing “every day be another wonderful secret.” That phrasing, if authentic, raises eyebrows about what secrets were being kept and shared among this circle.
Many big names, including former President Bill Clinton, are said to have contributed to this birthday album, suggesting Epstein’s influence reached across political lines. Yet the focus on Trump feels particularly pointed, especially with Democrats releasing these items now, long after Epstein’s death.
Trump has fiercely denied the authenticity of the birthday message, labeling it “fake” and filing a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for initially reporting it. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this on X, calling the story false and slamming it as part of a “Democrat Epstein Hoax.”
The president himself has doubled down, arguing on Truth Social last Friday that Democrats socialized with Epstein while he was alive, took his money, and did nothing to stop him. He questions why they suddenly care about victims now, implying a political agenda behind the timing of these releases.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the Oversight Committee’s Democratic ranking member, fired back, telling The Wall Street Journal that Trump is “lying” about the note’s existence. Garcia’s call to “release the full files now” suggests there’s more to uncover, though one wonders if his urgency is about truth or scoring points.
Last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi handed over 33,000 pages of Epstein-related documents to the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer. Democrats, however, claim only a tiny fraction of this material contains new information, mostly flight logs of Epstein’s private jet travels between 2000 and 2014.
Epstein’s estate, in a letter to the committee, stated they have no client list tied to sex trafficking and believe the original “Black Book” of contacts is likely with the FBI. This raises doubts about whether the full scope of Epstein’s network will ever come to light.
Meanwhile, figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Nancy Mace have been vocal about the Epstein files, with Mace visibly emotional after meeting victims. Their involvement shows bipartisan frustration, though the path to real answers remains murky at best.
These latest releases, while shocking, often feel like a political football rather than a genuine pursuit of justice for Epstein’s victims. The back-and-forth between Trump’s camp and Democrats risks drowning out the real horror of what Epstein did, turning it into just another partisan spat.
Trump’s past with Epstein can’t be erased, and these images and letters, authentic or not, remind us of a time when powerful men mingled without apparent concern for the consequences. Yet the obsession with pinning this solely on one figure, while ignoring others named in the same book, smells of selective outrage.
Ultimately, the public deserves transparency, not just cherry-picked leaks designed to wound political foes. If the goal is truth, then let’s see every page of those files, no matter who they implicate, and stop playing games with such a grave scandal.
