President Trump on Tuesday called the publication of a letter he allegedly sent the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday a “dead issue.”
“I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue,” Trump told NBC News in an interview. “I gave all comments to the staff. It’s a dead issue.”
Trump did not say anything more about the letter, NBC reported.
It was the first time the president has weighed in since House Oversight Committee Democrats released an image of the letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein in 2003.
The image shows the outline of a woman’s figure with a message in the middle formatted in the form of a conversation between Trump and Epstein and referencing that the two “have certain things in common.”
“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the message concludes.
The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Trump had written the salacious letter to Epstein as a 50th birthday gift. Trump denied writing the letter and later sued the publication.
Some White House officials and Trump allies have claimed the signature on the letter published Monday did not appear to match the president’s other signatures.
“As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. “President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
