Donald Trump has made a surprising demand regarding the Epstein files after an alleged birthday message the president sent to the convicted sex offender was revealed.
Trump was quick to take to Truth Social in recent hours to dismiss a report from the Wall Street Journal as ‘fake’ and threatened to sue the publication.
WSJ published a piece this week claiming Ghislaine Maxwell – the former girlfriend and accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein – collected messages from Epstein’s associates and added them to a birthday album for a celebration in 2003.
One of the alleged messages had Trump’s name on it, according to the documents reviewed by the newspaper.
WSJ reports the letter featured a few lines of typewritten text, which was seemingly framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman.
“Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the alleged letter concluded, before being signed off with just ‘Donald’.
Jeffrey Epstein was found deceased in his prison cell in 2019 (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
In his latest move, Trump has ordered US Attorney General Pam Bondi to release ‘any and all’ information regarding Epstein.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday (July 17).
Bondi responded to the POTUS’ demands on Twitter, writing: “President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.”
The US president was quick to respond to the Wall Street Journal report, penning on Truth Social: “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.
“Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so.
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Donald Trump quickly responded to the claims (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
“The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway.
“President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. Murdoch, shortly. The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don’t even exist.”
Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, New York City, in August 2019.
The financier had been arrested earlier in the year and died aged 66 while awaiting trial for charges related to sex trafficking – charges to which he pleaded not guilty.
