KEY POINTS:
• The Wall Street Journal reported it reviewed a 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Donald Trump’s name and a drawing of a naked woman
• Trump vigorously denied writing the letter and threatened to sue the newspaper and Rupert Murdoch
• MAGA influencers including Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, and Charlie Kirk defended Trump and questioned the report’s authenticity
• Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek release of grand jury transcripts from the Epstein case
Major MAGA influencers rallied behind President Donald Trump on Friday following a Wall Street Journal report about an alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, according to CNN on July 18.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday night that it had reviewed a collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, including a note bearing what appeared to be Trump’s signature and an outline of a naked woman, CNN reported on July 18. According to Truthout on July 18, the letter “contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman,” with Trump’s signature appearing below the woman’s waist, “mimicking pubic hair.”
The letter reportedly concluded with “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to multiple sources including CNN, Truthout, and CBS News on July 17-18.
Trump vigorously denied he wrote the letter, telling the Journal, “It’s not my language. It’s not my words,” according to CNN on July 18. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Trump stated “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” as reported by Truthout on July 18.
White House Attempts to Block Publication
Variety reported on July 18 that sources told them the White House attempted to block publication of the Wall Street Journal article. According to Variety, the White House threatened legal action against the paper if it went to print with the story on July 18.
CNN Business reported on July 17 that Trump said he had called Rupert Murdoch and asked him to kill the article. According to CNN’s July 18 report, Trump posted on Truth Social that “The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued.”
MAGA Influencers Defend Trump
Steve Bannon told CNN via text message on July 18 that he believed the story had united a base that had been showing signs of fraying. “We are finally on offense,” Bannon said, according to CNN on July 18. “President Trump has had enough and is fighting back – against his real enemies.”
Laura Loomer, who had been one of Bondi’s biggest critics over the Epstein case, called the Wall Street Journal story “totally fake,” CNN reported on July 18. Charlie Kirk, another influential MAGA voice who had criticized Bondi, said on X: “This is not how Trump talks at all. I don’t believe it,” according to CNN on July 18.
Vice President JD Vance called the Journal story “complete and utter bull****” on X Thursday and said the outlet “should be ashamed for publishing it,” according to multiple sources including NPR and Truthout on July 17-18.
Trump Orders Release of Grand Jury Transcripts
Following the Wall Street Journal story, Trump ordered Bondi to unseal “pertinent” grand jury material from the Epstein case, CNN reported on July 18. CBS News reported on July 17 that Trump posted on Truth Social: “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”
Bondi wrote in a post on X minutes later, “we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” according to CBS News on July 17.
CBS News reported that Mitchell Epner, a partner at the New York law firm Kudman Trachten Aloe Posner and a former federal prosecutor, said: “I’ve been in and around federal criminal cases for over 30 years. I’ve never heard of this before.”
Background Context
The controversy comes after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo last week stating that Epstein did not have an incriminating “client list,” did not try to blackmail any prominent figures, and died by suicide, according to CBS News on July 17.
CNN reported on July 14 that the memo’s release had caused significant division within Trump’s MAGA base, with some supporters calling for more transparency about the Epstein investigation. ABC News reported on July 13 that the pressure campaign intensified after the Justice Department said in a memo last week that there was no Epstein “client list” and announced it wouldn’t release any more documents related to the case.
According to Truthout on July 18, the letter The Wall Street Journal asserts is from Trump is part of a larger collection of messages from Epstein’s friends that were compiled into a book by his former girlfriend and confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell. Variety reported on July 18 that the letter was part of a birthday album collected by Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on charges that she helped Epstein lure girls to be sexually abused.
Legal Threats and Media Response
Trump promised to sue the paper over the story, saying: “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” according to multiple sources including CNN, CBS News, and Truthout on July 17-18.
CNN Business reported on July 17 that Bob Corn-Revere, chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said “these kinds of threats are not normal in a free society.” The Wall Street Journal declined to comment on Trump’s threat, according to CNN Business on July 17.
Bannon told CNN on July 18 that the order to release grand jury materials was a “good start” but urged Trump to “stay on offense.” He wrote: “Good start but stay on offense—it’s when Trump is @ his best –attack, attack, attack,” according to CNN on July 18.
The Wall Street Journal story was titled “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump,” and immediately rose to the top of the Journal’s most-read list, CNN Business reported on July 17.
