Our new book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. The second Trump administration is has been full of ominous developments. Scandals persist. Especially Epstein.
Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo at WSJ:
Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s estate have given Congress a copy of the birthday book put together for the financier’s 50th birthday, which includes a letter with President Trump’s signature that he has said doesn’t exist.
On Monday, House Oversight Committee members confirmed that they received a copy of the birthday book including the letter bearing Trump’s signature and a second letter that references Trump with a crude joke about a woman from another Epstein associate.
The Wall Street Journal in July reported on the book and the letter bearing Trump’s name, which contained typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman. The letter concluded: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” The signature was a squiggly “Donald” below the waist, mimicking pubic hair.
Trump has denied writing the letter or drawing the picture, calling it “a fake thing.” He also filed a lawsuit against the Journal’s reporters, Journal publisher Dow Jones, parent company News Corp and executives, alleging defamation and saying the letter was “nonexistent.” A Dow Jones spokeswoman said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting.”
The book is a collection of letters, photographs and drawings from dozens of Mr. Epstein’s associates bound into three volumes spanning more than 200 pages. While some of the messages contain mundane birthday wishes, others offer a window into a misogynistic circle of wealthy men fixated on women and sex. Many of them included suggestive stories or crude references to Mr. Epstein’s sexual appetites, and some indicated that his friends had at least some sense that he was engaged in inappropriate behavior.
Mr. Trump is mentioned in a letter in the book that appears to have been written by Joel Pashcow, the former chairman of a real estate company in New York. A photo above the letter includes a large mock check, made to look as if it is being paid from Mr. Trump to Mr. Epstein for $22,500. Beneath it, a handwritten caption referring to Mr. Epstein’s “early talents with money and women” claims that the photo shows Mr. Epstein selling a “fully depreciated” woman to Mr. Trump.
The woman’s name and photo are redacted in the caption and the image. Lawyers for Mr. Epstein’s estate told the committee that they removed the names and photos of women and minors who appeared in the book in order to ensure that any potential victims of Mr. Epstein could not be identified, according to a copy of a letter to the committee that was viewed by The Times.
