A scrapbook once meant to celebrate Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday has become Washington’s latest grenade — linking world leaders, royals, and now the US president to the disgraced financier’s orbit.
It reads like satire, but it isn’t: a scrapbook assembled for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday has resurfaced in Washington as damning evidence, released by US lawmakers in a new trove of documents. The so-called “birthday book,” compiled in 2003 by Epstein’s long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell, features glowing tributes from power brokers across politics, finance, and royalty. Among them, Democrats claim, is a note signed by Donald Trump.
The alleged Trump entry — complete with a sketch of a woman’s body — ends with the words: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” The White House has dismissed the note as a forgery, insisting the president “did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.” But Democrats say the document proves Trump lied when he previously denied the note even existed.
The scrapbook is only one piece of a broader release, which also includes Epstein’s will, decades of personal address books, and a 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors. The effect is explosive: new insight into the reach of Epstein’s network, and fresh controversy over how much leading figures knew — or chose to ignore.
Bill Clinton appears in the book with a message praising Epstein’s “childlike curiosity.” A spokesman for Clinton acknowledged the two men were acquainted but denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Lord Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to Washington, also features, calling Epstein “my best pal.” He later expressed “regret” over the connection. Prince Andrew is briefly mentioned, tied to an unidentified woman’s note boasting she had met Trump, Clinton, and Andrew through Epstein — and even “sat on the Queen of England’s throne.”
For Trump, the fallout is immediate. His lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over earlier reporting on the note now looks politically fraught, as Democrats blast him for what they call a cover-up. Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight panel, declared: “Now we know Donald Trump was lying and is doing everything he can to cover up the truth.”
Republicans accuse Democrats of cherry-picking documents to weaponize the release. Oversight Chair James Comer promised the GOP would focus instead on “accountability for survivors of Epstein’s heinous crimes.”
Still, the optics are damaging. The scrapbook — never meant for public eyes — shows Epstein’s ability to pull presidents, princes, and power players into his orbit long before his crimes were widely known. For Trump, already under pressure from allies and rivals alike for greater transparency on Epstein, the timing could not be worse.
In 2019, Epstein died in prison awaiting trial, his legacy sealed as one of America’s darkest scandals. Today, the “birthday book” keeps dragging the powerful back into the shadows he left behind.
