It was the summer of 2025 when a story from The Wall Street Journal basically set the internet on fire. It wasn't about tax policy or trade wars. Honestly, it was much weirder. The report detailed a "bawdy" birthday letter that Donald Trump supposedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003 for the financier's 50th birthday.
Now, if you've followed the long, messy saga of the Epstein files, you know there’s a lot of noise. But this specific wsj trump letter to epstein stood out because of the bizarre details. We aren't just talking about a "Happy Birthday" card. According to the Journal, the letter featured a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, with Trump’s signature—a squiggly "Donald"—placed in a way that mimicked, well, pubic hair.
Trump didn't take it sitting down. He immediately called it a "fake" and a "scam" cooked up by Democrats. He even filed a massive $20 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch. Kinda wild, right? But as of early 2026, the dust still hasn't settled on whether that letter was the real deal or a very sophisticated fabrication.
What was actually in the letter?
According to the reporters who reviewed it, Joseph Palazzolo and Khadeeja Safdar, the note was part of a birthday album Ghislaine Maxwell put together for Epstein. This wasn't a secret diary; it was a bound book of well-wishes from Epstein’s high-society circle at the time.
The letter itself reportedly contained a few lines of typewritten text. The kicker was the framing. The text was surrounded by a crude drawing of a curvaceous woman. The Journal described two small arcs denoting breasts. At the bottom, it ended with a line that has since become a bit of a meme: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
The Signature Controversy
This is where things get really technical and heated. Trump’s defense—led by people like White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich—is that the signature isn't his. They’ve posted side-by-side photos on X (formerly Twitter) trying to prove the "Donald" on the Epstein letter doesn't match the famous sharp, jagged signature we see on executive orders.
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Trump himself was pretty blunt about it. "I never wrote a picture in my life," he told the Journal. "I don't draw pictures of women."
Why the WSJ Trump Letter to Epstein Matters Now
You might be wondering why a 2003 birthday note is front-page news in 2026. Basically, it’s about the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Congress passed this law in late 2025 with an almost unanimous vote. It was supposed to force the Department of Justice to release everything. But as we sit here in January 2026, the DOJ—now under Attorney General Pam Bondi—has only released about 1% of the files.
This has created a massive vacuum. Into that vacuum stepped the Wall Street Journal report. Because the government is slow-rolling the official release, these journalistic leaks are the only way the public is seeing the "Phase 1" documents.
The Falling Out vs. The Birthday Book
Trump has always maintained that he and Epstein had a "falling out" around 2004. He usually tells the story about how he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for being a "creep" or for "stealing" spa employees.
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The wsj trump letter to epstein complicates that timeline. If the letter is real and was sent in 2003, it shows they were still on "palling around" terms just a year before the alleged ban. It suggests a level of intimacy—the kind where you'd send a suggestive joke to a friend—that contradicts the "we were just casual acquaintances" narrative.
The $20 Billion Lawsuit
Trump’s legal team filed the defamation suit in the Southern District of Florida. They aren't just looking for a correction; they want to bankrupt the paper's parent company, News Corp.
To win, Trump has to prove "actual malice." That’s a huge mountain to climb in the U.S. He has to prove the Journal knew the letter was fake or acted with "reckless disregard" for the truth.
The Journal says their evidence is "waterproof." They claim the letter was reviewed by the DOJ during the original Epstein and Maxwell investigations years ago. If the FBI has had this letter in a box since 2006, the Journal’s defense is pretty much set.
What Most People Get Wrong
People tend to think this letter is a "smoking gun" for a crime. It's not. Even the most aggressive reports note that Trump isn't accused of any misconduct in these specific documents. It’s more of a "character" document. It's about the social ties and the culture of "secrets" that Epstein cultivated.
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There's also the "fake" vs. "real" debate. Some believe the letter was planted by Maxwell to make it look like she had more powerful friends than she did. Others think it’s a classic piece of early-2000s "Lester" (Trump’s old nickname in some circles) humor.
Actionable Insights: How to Follow the Story
If you're trying to keep track of the wsj trump letter to epstein and the broader files release, don't just wait for the next viral tweet. Here is how to actually stay informed:
- Watch the House Oversight Committee: They are the ones actually subpoenaing the Epstein estate. They occasionally drop "batches" of documents that aren't redacted by the DOJ.
- Track the Southern District of Florida Docket: The defamation lawsuit is where the real evidence will come out. If the case goes to discovery, the Wall Street Journal might have to produce the actual physical source or photos they used for the story.
- Look for the 30-day DOJ Deadlines: Under the Transparency Act, the DOJ has specific windows to justify why they are withholding files. Senator Ron Wyden has been calling them out every time they miss a deadline.
The reality is that we are likely years away from seeing the full picture. Between the lawsuits and the slow-moving bureaucracy of the DOJ, the truth about the birthday note is tucked away in a mountain of legal filings. Whether it was a genuine note between friends or a sophisticated forgery, it has become the face of the ongoing battle over the Epstein archives.
Stay skeptical of everything you see on social media, especially "leaked" images that aren't verified by a major outlet. If you want the real story, keep an eye on the court proceedings. That's where the signatures will finally be put under a microscope.