Editor's note: In September 2025, the U.S. House Oversight Committee released the contents of Jeffrey Epstein's 50th-birthday book, which included the purported letter from Donald Trump. Read more here.
On July 17, 2025, The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report claiming U.S. President Donald Trump once sent a birthday card to since-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with a drawing of a nude woman. The card, according to the report, was risqué, and ended with Trump writing, "may every day be another wonderful secret."
The WSJ report came out after the Justice Department published a memo saying it would no longer release documents related to Epstein and concluded he did not have a "client list," angering Trump supporters who have long spread conspiracy theories about the files. The disgraced financier died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and investigators concluded he committed suicide.
According to the WSJ report, Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell — who has since been convicted of sex trafficking — assembled the cards for his 50th birthday into a leather-bound album in 2003:
The letter bearing Trump's name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly "Donald" below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The letter concludes: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
The Journal's report relied on anonymous sources with access to the album, which was reportedly among the documents reviewed by the Justice Department years ago when it investigated Epstein. The report did not include an image of the letter in question. Trump denied ever writing such a letter.
We reached out to the FBI and Justice Department to confirm whether the documents described by the WSJ are authentic. The FBI declined to comment.
Because the WSJ provided no named sources behind this letter, and Trump issued a denial, we are unable to independently confirm the letter's existence.
Trump's letter to Epstein allegedly had a typewritten imaginary conversation between the two men:
Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything.
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won't tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.
According to the Journal, Maxwell collected birthday wishes from the likes of billionaire Leslie Wexner — founder of L brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works — and attorney Alan Dershowitz.
In an interview with the Journal, Trump said: "This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story […] I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women. […] It's not my language. It's not my words. […] I'm gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else."
After the report was published, Trump wrote on X:
The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT
Trump was photographed alongside Epstein and Maxwell on several occasions.
After Trump faced criticism from his supporters for his administration's handling of the Epstein files, on July 17 he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to release additional materials on Epstein. The next day he wrote on social media: "If there was a 'smoking gun' on Epstein, why didn't the Dems, who controlled the 'files' for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!"
Snopes also reported on a February 2025 letter between Bondi and FBI head Kash Patel, which many people online said contradicted the Justice Department's claim that there was no Epstein "client list." The letter from Bondi to Patel never explicitly mentioned a client list, though it did say Bondi received "Epstein's list of contacts" in response to her request for the Epstein files.