'May every day be another wonderful secret': Trump denies Epstein birt…
A collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003 included a note bearing Donald Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The drawing, depicting a woman's breasts and a "Donald" signature in the place of pubic hair, surrounded several lines of typewritten text, according to the newspaper, which reviewed the letter.
It concluded with the line: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
READ MORE: Trump diagnosed with blood condition after troubling find
Trump in an interview with the Journal on Tuesday denied that he wrote the letter or drew the picture and threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the story.
"I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women," he said, according to the Journal.
"It's not my language. It's not my words."
In response to the story, Trump posted on Truth Social that he'd ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi "to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval".
She quickly responded on X that she was ready to do so, though the process of getting judges to sign off on such a move would likely take considerably longer.
Earlier in the evening, Trump vowed to sue The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, saying that he and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had warned them about publishing the story and that the letter was "fake".
"President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, News Corp, and Mr Murdoch, shortly," the Truth Social post reads.
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on social media, calling the story "complete and utter bullshit" in an X post.
But the Wall Street Journal report is likely to further fuel scrutiny of Trump's handling of a Justice Department review of the Epstein case that has roiled his MAGA base and consumed the White House for several days.
Epstein, a financier who socialised with a range of politicians and other powerful figures, was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York.
He was later found dead in his jail cell.
Medical examiners ruled the death a suicide, but the circumstances have since spawned an array of conspiracy theories.
In a memo last week, the Justice Department said Epstein did indeed die by suicide and that there was no Epstein "client list" and announced it wouldn't release any more documents related to the case, infuriating an influential contingent of Trump supporters who believed the administration would make all of the Epstein files public.
READ MORE: Trump announces Coca-Cola will change its recipe at his request
Trump has since angrily dismissed the backlash, accusing his supporters of falling for a "hoax" by fixating on the case.
He urged Republicans to drop the issue altogether.
"Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker," Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Facing growing calls from his supporters and members of Congress, Trump had said Bondi could release any additional "credible" files on the case, even as he lamented the "stupid and foolish Republicans" continuing to push the matter.
Leavitt said Trump "would not recommend" that a special prosecutor investigate the Epstein case, despite calls from some of the president's closest allies to do so.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the letter bearing Trump's name was included in a birthday album assembled by Ghislaine Maxwell, a close Epstein associate who was convicted of child sex trafficking in connection with Epstein.
She collected the letters from Trump and dozens of others for Epstein's 50th birthday, the Journal reported.
The album was later part of the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein several years ago, according to the newspaper.
READ MORE: Trump lashes out at 'weaklings' who believe Epstein 'hoax'
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.