{"id":21916,"date":"2025-09-14T13:19:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T13:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/21916\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T13:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T13:19:10","slug":"epstein-birthday-book-renews-questions-about-links-to-rich-and-powerful-men-jeffrey-epstein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/21916\/","title":{"rendered":"Epstein birthday book renews questions about links to rich and powerful men | Jeffrey Epstein"},"content":{"rendered":"

After House Democrats released a scrapbook gifted to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> for his 50th birthday, questions have emerged about whether the late child-sex trafficker\u2019s proclivities were an open secret or, at the very least, rumored in the circle of powerful and rich people that surrounded him.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the so-called birthday book, which was compiled by Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>, contains multiple letters that are laden with sexual innuendo \u2013 including one alleged missive from Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

A mysterious message, typed on a naked female torso, quotes Donald Trump<\/a> as stating: \u201cWe have certain things in common, Jeffrey.\u201d Part of this birthday note implored that \u201cevery day be another wonderful secret\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnigmas never age, have you noticed that?\u201d a quote on the drawing attributed to Trump also stated.This alleged birthday note tightly mirrors the Wall Street Journal\u2019s reporting about such a note in July. Trump has filed a $10bn defamation lawsuit over the paper\u2019s report and called it fake.<\/p>\n

Also in the book was photo of Epstein standing with an oversized $22,500 cheque <\/a>bearing \u201cDJ Trump\u201d on the signature line. Below this photo, text states that Epstein demonstrated \u201cearly talents with money + women\u201d.<\/p>\n

This entry appears to imply<\/a> that Epstein sold something or someone to Trump. It said this object or person was \u201cfully depreciated\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump, who once did have a social relationship with Epstein, has long denied any knowledge of Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n

Among other sexual notes are a crude cartoon depicting Epstein giving young girls balloons and a lollipop, dated 1983. The same panel features a drawing, dated 2003, with three topless females massaging Epstein. The book also features images of zebras, and lions, engaging in sex.<\/p>\n

Trump is listed under the \u201cfriends\u201d section of the book\u2019s table of contents, as are former president Bill Clinton and attorney Alan Dershowitz. Jean-Luc Brunel, a former model agency head suspected of supplying young girls to Epstein, was also included in the friends section.<\/p>\n

Maxwell introduced Brunel to Epstein in the 1980s. Brunel, who was arrested<\/a> in 2020 by French authorities on suspicion of rape, was found hanged in prison <\/a>while awaiting trial. Epstein died in jail pending trial six years ago.<\/p>\n

Several familiar with the 1980s and 1990s scene inhabited by moneyed men, such as Epstein, said that mistreatment of women and girls was well-known by some.<\/p>\n

Carr\u00e9 Otis, who rose to prominence as a top model in the mid-1980s, said she did not meet Epstein but \u201cdefinitely knew his name\u201d from a whisper network among her colleagues. \u201cThere was a sort of a playbook of who to avoid,\u201d said Otis, who has accused <\/a>the ex-modeling agency boss Gerald Marie of raping her when she was 17.<\/p>\n

Otis, who alleged in a lawsuit that Marie trafficked her to other wealthy men in Europe, said: \u201cThere were definitely names that we knew amongst ourselves and shared amongst ourselves, to keep ourselves safe in the face of these predators.\u201d Marie has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

For models and women in the entertainment industry, Otis said, there was \u201can expectation that you did what the powerful men of that era wanted you to do\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also so deeply ingrained, certainly for me, having been groomed within that industry, to tolerate so much abuse,\u201d Otis said. \u201cBut I know that I wasn\u2019t the only one at that time. So it was more than normal than not for wealthy, powerful men to behave that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacey Williams<\/a>, a former model who briefly dated Epstein in 1993, said he and Trump \u201cwere very close friends\u201d. Williams said she met Trump through Epstein.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was only one male friend that Jeffrey spoke about, or referenced on a regular basis, or shared that he was spending time with,\u201d Williams said. She further described Epstein\u2019s interactions with Trump as \u201che had just come from his place. He was going to his place. He was going to see him. That was very common.\u201d<\/p>\n

In October 2024, Williams said Trump groped her at Trump Tower three decades prior in what she thought was a \u201ctwisted game\u201d between the two men.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe seemed surprised that I didn\u2019t fight back, that I froze. He didn\u2019t seem surprised that the incident happened,\u201d Williams said of Epstein. \u201cHe said over and over again, \u2018Why did you let him do that? \u2018So the reaction wasn\u2019t, \u2018I can\u2019t believe that happened.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s confusing to me that Donald Trump ran on releasing the files and that it was so incredibly important to his supporters. And here we are, and nobody has seen them yet,\u201d Williams said. She added: \u201cEpstein survivors are asking for transparency and justice, which would mean making the files public and holding the perpetrators accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis survivors and myself are out here, exposing ourselves, putting ourselves in very uncomfortable, embarrassing positions, and the perpetrators that are supposedly in the files get all the secrecy,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s really frustrating.\u201d <\/p>\n

The release of this birthday book has only intensified criticism of Trump for his ties to Epstein. Trump\u2019s justice department has failed to release all Epstein documents despite his repeated campaign promise to do so, setting the stage for still more scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has continued to insist that the the card is a fake, writing on X<\/a>: \u201cAs I have said all along, it\u2019s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump\u2019s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, said: \u201cThe Fake News continues playing into the hands of the Democrat Hoax trying to link President Trump and Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep,\u201d Jackson also said. \u201cDemocrats and the media knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Trump has been able to so far weather Epstein-related blowback, others have not. Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK\u2019s ambassador to the US over his friendship with Epstein.<\/p>\n

Mandelson called Epstein his \u201cbest pal\u201d in a handwritten note that was in the birthday book. He voiced his support<\/a> for Epstein in 2008 email exchanges, when he was facing jail<\/a> for soliciting sex from teen girls.<\/p>\n

Mandelson told Epstein to \u201cfight for early release\u201d. He also told Epstein that \u201cyour friends stay with you and love you\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After House Democrats released a scrapbook gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday, questions have emerged about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[489,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-21916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}