President Donald Trump offered his first on-camera reaction to a drawing and signature in Jeffrey Epstein's 50th "birthday book" which he allegedly signed in 2003 -- denying completely that what is in the book is his signature or his "language," while speaking to reporters outside of Joe's Seafood in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night.
"It's not my signature. And it's not the way I speak. And anybody that's covered me for a long time, knows -- that's not my language,” Trump said, when asked about the matter by ABC's Hannah Demissie.
"It's nonsense," he added.
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters outside the restaurant Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
On Monday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released an image of the birthday message allegedly sent by Trump, after the panel received documents and communications from Epstein's estate.
Trump has denied writing the letter, calling it "fake" after the Wall Street Journal first reported on the birthday book and the alleged contribution from Trump in mid-July. Trump also filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper. Dow Jones, the parent company of the Journal, said it has full confidence in the accuracy of the reporting.
Trump called it a "dead issue" on the phone when asked by NBC News.
"I don't comment on something that's a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It's a dead issue," Trump said on Tuesday morning, according to NBC News.
Top administration officials have denied that the signature on the birthday message belongs to the president.
"The president did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter. And that's why the president's external legal team is aggressively pursuing litigation against the Wall Street Journal, and they will continue to do so," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Tuesday's press briefing.
When asked if the administration would support a review by a professional handwriting expert, Leavitt said "sure" they would.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on religious liberty in education at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, September 8, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, on Tuesday took aim at Democrats on the panel for their handling of the documents received from the Epstein estate.
"The Democrats, they find one thing in there, and they promote it and try to get a narrative. This investigation is about providing justice and accountability for the victims," Comer said.
Comer told ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O'Brien that he hasn't "looked at the signature yet," but said he believes Trump's denials about the birthday message.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, September 9, 2025 in Washington. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Comer told reporters the committee expects to receive more documents as part of its Epstein probe.
"We've got a lot more documents we expect to get in," he said. "We're going to bring a lot of people in for deposition, so this investigation is moving along very rapidly, and hopefully we'll get some answers and some justice very soon."
In response to the developments surrounding the so-called birthday book and the alleged letter from Trump, Brad Edwards, an attorney for scores of Epstein survivors, said on Monday that Trump's "hypocrisy has been most frustrating for the victims."
"He told the public the Epstein story should 'go away,' yet filed a $10 billion lawsuit that only magnifies the very issue he wants silenced," Edwards told ABC News. "With today's release, the least he could do is withdraw that lawsuit and publicly apologize to the journalists he attacked for reporting what seems to have now proved to be true."
Leavitt was asked on Tuesday about Epstein survivors and if the president is willing to meet with them. She said Trump "cares about victims of all crimes" before turning to criticizing Democrats, who she claimed were "desperately trying to concoct a hoax to smear the president of the United States."
Leavitt, who earlier in the press briefing called the Epstein saga "a hoax against the president of the United States," was asked to further explain what the White House viewed as the "hoax" and their explanation for how these documents came to be at the Epstein estate.
House Oversight Committee's Ranking Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia posted a photo on X that Democrats say is the page attributed to Trump in Jeffrey Epstein's "birthday book." The White House is denying that the image shared by Democrats is the president's signature. @RepRobertGarcia/X
"I did not say the documents are a hoax. I said the entire narrative surrounding Jeffrey Epstein right now that is absorbing many of the liberal cable channels on television is a hoax," Leavitt responded.
"The Democrats view this story as nothing more than an attempt to distract from the accomplishments and the achievements of this administration, and that is what we mean when we call it a hoax," she added.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the panel, said after Monday's disclosure that Trump has more to answer for on the Epstein matter.
"The Oversight Committee has secured the infamous 'Birthday Book' that contains a note from President Trump that he has said does not exist," Garcia said in a statement. "It's time for the President to tell us the truth about what he knew and release all the Epstein files. The American people are demanding answers."
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy and child sex trafficking. He died in custody a month later, while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
