White House officials have intensified their denial that a suggestive letter bearing what appears to be Donald Trump’s signature, included in a birthday book for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was actually signed by the president. The letter and a drawing of a naked woman’s torso were released by the House oversight committee on Monday, reigniting a furor Trump has sought to quell for months.
At a press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the White House would support an expert review of the signature to determine its authenticity. “Three separate signature analysts who said this was not the president’s authentic signature and we have maintained that all along,” Leavitt said, adding that Trump’s external legal team is pursuing litigation against the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the note in July.
However, critics note that before his presidency, Trump regularly used only his first name in signatures, often with a distinctive line extending from the last letter. A signature on a 1995 letter closely resembles the one on the Epstein note. Trump himself declined to comment, calling the matter a “dead issue” in an NBC interview.
The release of the birthday book and other Epstein-related documents has also led to bipartisan calls for the Justice Department to release all its investigative files on Epstein. A resolution requiring this release appears to have enough support to force a House floor vote, pending the results of two special elections later this month.
Top Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, have backed the White House’s denial. Comer told CNN he does not plan to investigate the signature’s veracity, calling it a matter from 22 years ago. Meanwhile, Leavitt denied a claim by Johnson that Trump had been an FBI informant against Epstein, stating that Trump simply banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago.
