Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday album included a letter from former President Bill Clinton, according to a new report.
Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019, has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo earlier this month stating there was never any Epstein client list of powerful people who may have participated in his crimes.
During the fallout from the memo, President Donald Trump’s past relationship with Epstein has been scrutinized, and last week, The Wall Street Journal released a report claiming the president had given Epstein a bawdy birthday letter, which reportedly included a drawing of a naked woman, as part of a leather-bound book Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell prepared for his 50th birthday in 2003.
Trump has denied authoring any such letter and is suing the WSJ, its parent company and owner Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion.
Now, the WSJ has dropped another bombshell, claiming former President Clinton wrote a note to Epstein also included in the birthday album.
According to the report released Thursday, Clinton had handwritten a single paragraph in the album, which read, “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.”
A Clinton spokesman declined to comment to the WSJ on the reporting and instead referred to a previous statement saying the former president’s association with Epstein ended more than a decade before he was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. The statement also said Clinton didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes, the WSJ reports.
The Independent has reached out to Clinton’s representative for comment.
Actor Kevin Spacey, who was previously acquitted of sexual offense allegations, recalled in a June 2024 interview with journalist Piers Morgan that he had flown on Epstein’s jet with the late financier, Clinton and a group of “young girls.” Spacey said he had been invited by Clinton on a humanitarian trip to Africa in 2002. Clinton has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The WSJ report Thursday mentioned several other high-profile names that sent messages to be included in the Epstein birthday book. The Independent has not reviewed or separately verified the so-called birthday book.
The WSJ previously reported Trump’s birthday letter to Epstein had included a note that read: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
On Truth Social, Trump wrote in response to the report, “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.”
Trump socialized with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but reportedly cut ties before Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18.
While Trump has not been accused of any formal wrongdoing or charged with any crime, his proximity to Epstein, someone he once called a friend, has heightened conspiracy theories that the government is withholding documents that could reveal embarrassing information about high-profile individuals.
In announcing his $10 billion defamation suit filed Friday against the WSJ, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media.”
A spokesperson for WSJ publisher Dow Jones said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
