A birthday letter that U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly wrote to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago is seen as presented by the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on their X account September 8, 2025.

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump responded to a House committee's release of a birthday note and lewd drawing purported to be from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein by calling it a "dead issue" and declining to comment further.

In a Sept. 9 phone interview with NBC News, Trump told the television network: "I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It’s a dead issue."

A 2003 book given to Epstein on his 50th birthday, which contains a letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein, was among a slew of documents the House Oversight and Reform Committee released Sept. 8.

The letter contains a drawing that depicts the outline of a naked woman along with a typed note that portrays a conversation between Trump and Epstein. "We have certain things in common, Jeffrey," the note says. The letter is signed "Donald" in cursive.

Trump has previously denied writing the note to Epstein in the birthday book ‒ which Epstein's longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell assembled ‒ and has sued the Wall Street Journal for reporting first on the letter.

The book is filled with vulgar pictures, with many faces blacked out, and messages both handwritten and typed from well-wishers for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The book lists notable figures such as former President Bill Clinton and prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz as contributors and "friends," but neither has been charged in association with Epstein.

Trump and Epstein were close friends in the 1990s and early 2000s. Trump has said their falling out began when the wealthy financier "stole" young female workers who were employed at Trump's Mar-a-Lago spa. Trump has said he did not know why Epstein was poaching the workers.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sept. 8 in a social media post that Trump didn't draw the picture or sign it and the litigation will continue.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Sept. 9 that he doesn't believe the Trump note to Epstein is real, citing Trump's denial. "I don't. They say it's not."

Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump calls Epstein birthday letter a 'dead issue' after House committee releases book

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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