Finally, we see the look of the evidence – and it doesn’t look great for Donald Trump.
A lewd birthday message Trump allegedly sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been released by Democrats.
The letter, surrounded by a hand-drawn outline of what appears to be a woman, bearing Trump’s name and allegedly his signature, includes the text: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The alleged note had always been in doubt, as long as the fabled birthday book remained unpublished. There’s more certainty now.
Trump had repeatedly denied all association, saying: “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.”
It will amplify questions surrounding his friendship with Epstein and suggestions of improper behaviour. The US president denies any wrongdoing.
In suing the publishers of The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s attorneys have argued that “no authentic letter or drawing exists”.
Expect arguments over authenticity to continue – forensic investigations, who knows, to establish the provenance of the picture signed “Donald”.
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What isn’t in doubt is the traction it will lend to calls for a full release of the Epstein files. The birthday book handed over to the Congressional committee had the names and faces of women and minors redacted.
The drawing and its publication is the hard piece of evidence that makes it even harder for the president to cry “hoax”.
And yet, he surely will. To admit the picture was drawn by his own hand would be to admit a lie that would bind him tighter still to the scandal that stalks him.
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A first sight of the drawing is one development in this story, but it’s not the only one. Lawyers for the Epstein estate wrote in their covering letter to the committee that they are unaware of the existence of a “list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking facilitated by Mr Jeffrey Epstein”.
It is their word, for public consumption.
They’ll be aware, as they are in the White House, that on this story, the public would rather make up its own mind.
