Tweet
Email
Link
The House Oversight Committee has received its first documents from the estate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including the so-called “birthday book” – a reported collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday that included a note bearing President Donald Trump’s name.
Democrats on the committee posted on X an image of the page with Trump’s name. Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter and sued The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on it, for defamation. White House deputy chief of staff for communications Taylor Budowich said on X that “it’s not his signature,” in response to the image released by Democrats, alongside several images bearing the president’s signature.
The panel has been investigating the Epstein case and had subpoenaed the estate for documents as part of its probe. The investigation comes amid a bipartisan push for more transparency over the case and the release of more information.
Republicans and Democrats on the panel said they plan to make additional documents public after taking time to review what was turned over by the estate. It was not immediately clear when more documents would be made public.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the panel, said the committee had secured the “note from President Trump that he has said does not exist,” adding: “It’s time for the President to tell us the truth about what he knew and release all the Epstein files.”
A House Oversight Committee aide said that in addition to the “birthday book,” the estate turned over “the last will and testament of Epstein immediately preceding August 8, 2019; the September 24, 2007 non-prosecution agreement between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Epstein; entries from Epstein’s address/contact books from January 1, 1990 through August 10, 2019; and information about Epstein’s known bank accounts.”
Attorney Daniel H. Weiner, a representative for the estate, confirmed to CNN that an initial document production had been transmitted to the panel and said “the Co-Executors will continue to produce on a rolling basis documents responsive to the Committee’s subpoena.”
Lawyers representing the estate noted in a letter obtained by CNN accompanying the document production that there are certain redactions in the book, which was reportedly compiled by Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, that comprises three volumes.
“Please note that, in an abundance of caution, we have redacted names and faces of women and minors who appear in the book (other than Ms. Maxwell, public figures, and family or class photos) to ensure that no potential victims are publicly identifiable,” Weiner and attorney Daniel Ruzumna wrote.
“We have also redacted photographs revealing any nudity from the book,” the co-counsel for the co-executors of Epstein’s estate added.
Committee members and their staff will have the opportunity to review the unredacted versions of the book and other documents, as CNN previously reported.
In response to the committee’s request for “a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking facilitated by Mr. Jeffrey Epstein,” in the subpoena, lawyers for Epstein’s estate said they “are not aware of the existence” of such a list.
As CNN previously reported, a bipartisan group of staffers on the committee is expected to travel to New York City later this week to meet with lawyers representing the estate and view unredacted documents related to the investigation.
The committee previously released tens of thousands of pages of documents of Epstein files turned over to the panel by the Justice Department. Democrats on the panel criticized that document production, however, saying that it contained little new information.