‘The Epstein book is the one thing that has Trump genuinely scared’

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• The White House claims a letter written and signed by Donald Trump, which appears in a book given to Jeffrey Epstein, is a hoax.
• The News Agents describe the content of the book as “dark and disgusting” and alongside photos of Epstein giving balloons to children, say Trump’s entry is one of the least offensive entries.
• Trump, and his MAGA supporters, have long rallied against the ‘elites’ with conspiracy theories, but now the president finds himself the victim of a narrative he was previously selling.

What’s the story?

The White House claims it finally has evidence that Donald Trump was not involved in the Epstein Files.

That evidence? Donald Trump's signature in the long-rumoured Epstein book, presented to him by convicted sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell for the paedophile's 50th birthday.

It appears under a letter from Trump to Epstein, which has been made public by Democrats in Congress, framed in a crude drawing of a woman's body and breasts.

"As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it," says Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

"This is FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!"

The 'Democrat Epstein hoax' is a new one – and it was Trump and the Republicans who were promising to expose the details of the Epstein Files during his 2024 campaign.

The News Agents previously said Trump's links to the Epstein Files would be the ultimate test of his "fake news" defence.

The existence of Trump's letter to Epstein, in which he writes "may every day be another wonderful secret", was first revealed in an expose by The Wall Street Journal in July 2025.

Another page in the birthday book jokes about Trump being "sold" a woman for $22,500.

The US president has denied any involvement with Jeffrey Epstein's illegal activities, and Republican House speaker Mike Johnson recently claimed he acted as an "FBI informant" against the disgraced financier.

Also swept into the scandal is Labour's US envoy Peter Mandelson, who writes “wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal” in the same book.

Mandelson says he "regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein."

What's in the book?

At the time, Trump denied the existence of the picture, and the book, even suing the Wall Street Journal for publishing the – at the time alleged – details.

Now, people across the world have seen the drawing, and many other pages from the book which, according to the president, did not exist.

Emily Maitls describes its contents as "dark and disgusting", adding that in comparison to pictures of animals having sex, pictures of scout huts and photos of Epstein giving balloons to children, Trump's drawing is one of the least offensive entries.

"I'm not saying that everybody who contributed to it knew, but there were clearly a lot of people who contributed to that book who understood what Epstein's proclivities were," Emily says.

Alongside Trump and Mandelson, former president Bill Clinton also contributed an entry, talking about the type of "entertainment" Epstein enjoyed.

"It is a trove of potential stories, deep embarrassment – and worse – for those associated with it," Lewis Goodall adds.

Read more

MAGA voters ‘betrayed’ by Trump after shutdown of Epstein files investigation

The Epstein Files: Is this the ultimate test of Trump's 'fake news' defence?

Trump and Epstein: Will the president’s New York party days bring him down?

Did Trump bring this on himself?

The president's biggest mistake in dealing with his relationship (aside from his ongoing promises to expose his former friend), is his flat-out denial of any involvement with the book – which continues even now.

"Trump has been king of all he surveyed, but the one thing which has been a cloud on that political horizon, and a dark one at that, is this Epstein scandal, and these documents," says Lewis.

"It is the one thing that Trump and this new administration, this imperial government, has seen which has them genuinely scared.

"Since these documents appeared, his spokesperson from the White House podium again, is trying to convince everybody that it's a complete fake – but it rings hollow."

He says these images going public has resulted in a "rare moment of bipartisanship" in Washington, with many Democrats and some Republicans condemning Trump for his involvement with Epstein, and this book.

Conspiracy theories, he adds, are at the heart of the MAGA movement, and for those so desperate to see these documents it is "deeply unfortunate" that the person at the centre of it is Trump himself.

"Trump's denial, that he couldn't possibly have done the drawing, was so instant and so forthright that he actually set a trap for himself," says Emily.

"By denying it so outrightly, he's basically set himself up as having to acknowledge that the thing itself was really bad."

Instead of addressing his well-known, and long-running friendship with Epstein, Trump has chosen to "cling to fiction", and insist there was almost no relationship between the two.

During his election campaign, Trump pushed the theories of a "deep state" controlling America, "lobbing grenades from the outside", but since returning to power, he has now become exactly that.

"The whole thesis is that there are a group of elites who are hiding things from you, and that is at the centre of Trump's politics. He has cultivated, incubated and amplified it," Lewis says.

"He is now suffering from that very act.

"He's lived by the sword, and now he's dying by the sword."

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.