President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his denial that he had authored a lewd birthday note to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, after the alleged letter was released to the public a day earlier.
The Wall Street Journal reported in July on the existence of the alleged 2003 letter, prompting a $10 billion defamation suit from the Republican president against the newspaper and its owners.
The letter, a typewritten message inserted into the sketched outline of a nude woman – with Trump's alleged signature in the place of her pubic hair – was one of many notes sent by Epstein's friends that his associate Ghislaine Maxwell had compiled into a book for his 50th birthday.
On Monday, the House Oversight Committee published a copy of the book and other personal files subpoenaed from Epstein's estate.
"It's not my signature and it's not the way I speak," Trump told reporters Tuesday evening, as he made a rare trip to dine out in the U.S. capital.
"Anybody that's covered me for a long time knows that's not my language. It's nonsense. And frankly, you're wasting your time," he added.
The letter consists of a short dialogue between "Donald" and "Jeffrey," with the former at one point remarking that "enigmas never age."
It ends with Donald wishing Jeffrey a happy birthday, adding: "may every day be another wonderful secret."
- Handwriting expert? -
In arguing that the signature on the alleged letter is not authentic, Trump's allies have pointed to differences with documents he has signed since he first became president in 2017.
However, The New York Times on Monday published several letters signed by Trump from the late 1990s and early 2000s, in which his signature bears a resemblance to the 2003 letter.
Asked if the White House would approve of a professional handwriting expert reviewing the documents, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday: "Sure we would support that."
Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections around the world, was convicted of sex offenses and found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls recruited to provide him with sexual massages.
Trump has been dogged for months by controversy surrounding the late sex offender, after his administration confirmed Epstein's death was a suicide and deemed the release of more case files unnecessary – despite having previously referenced long-running conspiracies of covered-up wrongdoing.
Trump's prior relationship with Epstein has also proved to be potent fodder for his political opponents, with the president and his allies seeking to downplay the whole saga as a Democrat "hoax."
After Monday's publication of the letter, Leavitt posted on social media that "it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."
"This is FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!" she said.
Asked on Tuesday to clarify which aspect was a hoax – given the documents were provided by the Epstein estate – Leavitt said: "I did not say the documents are a hoax.
"I said the entire narrative surrounding Jeffrey Epstein right now that is absorbing many of the liberal cable channels on television is a hoax that is being perpetuated by opportunistic Democrats... who are trying to push this hoax against the president of the United States."