Former president Bill Clinton contributed to the infamous leather-bound book for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday which sparked Donald Trump’s billion dollar lawsuit against News Corp.
Clinton wrote a single paragraph wishing Epstein well for the birthday gift organized by his right-hand woman Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003, according to The Wall Street Journal.
‘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,’ read the message scrawled in Clinton’s handwriting.
A spokesperson for Clinton declined to comment when approached by the WSJ, but pointed to a previous statement which maintained Clinton had cut Epstein off more than a decade before his 2019 arrest.
Clinton has long maintained he did not know of the allegations against Epstein. He was awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges when he committed suicide in his cell.
The revelation that Clinton also contributed to the book comes more than a week after Trump was implicated with an alleged risqué hand-drawn picture of a naked woman with a cryptic message inside, according to the Journal.
Trump furiously denied the allegations and launched a mammoth lawsuit the next day, suing the journalists by name, as well as the publication and Rupert Murdoch himself.
If the case proceeds, Trump would need to clear a demanding ‘actual malice’ standard that must be met by public figures to win in U.S. defamation cases.
The standard means Trump must prove the paper knew the article was false or acted with reckless disregard for its truth.
He is seeking at least $10 billion on each of two defamation counts.
Both Clinton and Trump were reportedly listed in the ‘friends’ section of the birthday book, the publication stated, along with about 20 others.
The birthday letter included what appears to be Trump’s famous signature and was obtained by the WSJ.
The outline of a naked woman allegedly frames typewritten text which reads: ‘Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.’
According to the Journal, the naked woman appeared to have been hand-drawn with a marker, with a pair of arcs indicating the woman’s breasts and a squiggly signature reading ‘Donald’ appearing in her pubic region, mimicking hair.
Trump categorically denied any involvement in the drawing or writing of the text.
‘This is not me,’ he said. ‘This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story.
‘I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.’
Trump vowed to sue the Wall Street Journal if it published the story, warning: ‘I’m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else.’
The alleged letter reportedly contained an imaginary conversation between Epstein and Trump, written in third person.
In the imaginary conversation, ‘Donald’ writes: ‘We have certain things in common, Jeffrey’, to which ‘Jeffrey’ replies: ‘Yes we do, come to think of it.’
‘Donald’ then responds: ‘Enigmas never age, have you noticed that’, and imaginary ‘Jeffrey’ says ‘as a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.’
Trump responded to the publication of the letter with a rant on his social media platform Truth Social, writing: ‘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.’
Repeating his threat of legal action he added: ‘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.’
Although Trump claimed he ‘never wrote a picture in my life’, several sketches he made of New York City landmarks as early as 2004 are readily available online.
In a separate post, he called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the court’s approval to release ‘any and all’ evidence about Epstein’s crimes.
‘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.
‘This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!’
Vice President JD Vance also rubbished the allegations last Thursday night, writing on X: ‘Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bulls**t. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it.
‘Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?’
‘Will the people who have bought into every hoax against President Trump show an ounce of skepticism before buying into this bizarre story?’
The publication states that a compilation of letters were put together in a leather-bound album, organized by Maxwell for Epstein prior to his first arrest in 2006.
The album contained poems and photos from businesspeople and high-flying executives.
It is understood the letter forms part of the initial investigation into Epstein and Maxwell that the Justice Department conducted years ago, however it is unclear whether it was examined during the Attorney General’s recent search.
Bondi and Trump are both under immense pressure from MAGA loyalists after failing to deliver on a campaign promise to expose Epstein’s client list and reveal the truth about his alleged suicide inside his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for child sex trafficking charges.
Bondi in February shared binders with MAGA influencers called ‘Phase 1’ of the Epstein release, but the folders contained previously published information.
She assured the public at the time that the client list was ‘on her desk to be reviewed’ and that more bombshell information would soon follow.
Earlier this month, she backtracked and insisted the highly sought after client list ‘doesn’t exist.’ She also said that Epstein killed himself in jail, and that there was no evidence to suggest he was murdered.
The lack of new information has sparked mutiny among MAGA and deeply divided Trump’s base.
