The Wall Street Journal reported that former President Bill Clinton was among dozens of prominent figures who contributed birthday messages to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate and later convicted accomplice, compiled the notes into a leather-bound album titled “The First Fifty Years” as a gift.
Clinton’s handwritten note, in his distinctive scrawl, read: “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and errors, and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.” Clinton’s name appeared in the book’s “friends” section alongside roughly five dozen other contributors. His spokesman has noted that Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in 2002–2003 for trips tied to Clinton Foundation work but cut ties with Epstein more than a decade before the financier’s 2019 arrest. Clinton has stated he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and contributed the letter at a staff member’s request for a “nice” birthday message.
Clinton’s association with Epstein has drawn scrutiny before. In a 2016 deposition, Johanna Sjoberg — an alleged Epstein victim — testified that Epstein once told her that “Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.” Sjoberg said she never met Clinton and had no direct knowledge of any misconduct by him. No evidence has emerged linking Clinton to Epstein’s sex crimes.
The same album included a contribution attributed to Donald Trump, then a private citizen and longtime Epstein acquaintance. According to the Journal, the entry featured typewritten text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, with Trump’s signature placed suggestively below the waist. The message reportedly concluded: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump has vehemently denied writing or signing the note, calling it fake, and filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. A federal judge dismissed the suit in April 2026, ruling that Trump failed to plausibly allege “actual malice.”
Pages from the birthday book, including letters attributed to Clinton and Trump, were later subpoenaed and partially released (with redactions) by the House Oversight Committee in September 2025.
The reports surfaced amid ongoing controversy over the Trump administration’s handling of Epstein-related documents. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice issued a memo reaffirming that Epstein’s 2019 death in jail was a suicide, disappointing some who had promoted conspiracy theories of murder and a cover-up. President Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury testimony, but federal judges have denied some requests, citing strict secrecy rules around grand jury materials.
Epstein, who died while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, cultivated relationships with powerful individuals across political and financial circles for years. The birthday album offers a window into that social orbit before his crimes became public. While the letters reflect flattery common in elite networking at the time, they have renewed public focus on the extent of Epstein’s connections — without providing new evidence of criminal involvement by most named individuals.
