House committee subpoenas Epstein birthday book

The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability issued a subpoena on Monday afternoon, requiring the Epstein estate to produce entries from a leather-bound birthday book presented to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, along with other logs. The disclosure is necessary in order to investigate possible mismanagement of the federal government’s prosecution of Epstein, a cover letter for the subpoena reads.

The subpoena also requires the estate to share any potential client list, missed phone call logs between 1990-2019, security footage, flight logs to Epstein’s island, bank records, financial transactions, and documents related to the maintenance of eight different properties used by Epstein.

The birthday book, the existence of which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, allegedly includes well-wishes to the infamous financier that predate his trouble with the law. According to the Journal, it includes an explicit entry from President Donald Trump who penned a message in the shape of a naked woman. Trump’s entry reportedly ends with “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Who was Jeffrey Epstein? Epstein was a well-connected hedge fund manager with a list of friends that included former President Bill Clinton, Great Britain’s Prince Andrew, and President Donald Trump. He was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges for allegedly abusing dozens of underage girls as young as 14. He died in prison before a federal conviction. His death has been ruled a suicide by the FBI. His case has led to widespread speculation that Epstein may have solicited underage prostitution to powerful, well-connected figures.

What’s so important about the book? Some believe the book establishes a previously unreported degree of closeness between Trump and Epstein. While the two appear in pictures, Trump has framed their relationship as superficial. Trump has denied the authenticity of the letter and said he did not write the message described by the Journal. The president has sued News Corp, the parent company of the Journal, for publishing the letter. The Journal has admitted that it does not have possession of the birthday book. Compliance with the subpoena would remove the veil of secrecy from the book, as well as potentially reveal who else might have written an entry.

Dig deeper: The amount of public attention Epstein has received has frustrated President Trump. Despite his calls for the public to focus on the administration’s other achievements, Republican lawmakers continue to share frustrations over the lingering questions around Epstein, his death, and the government’s transparency on the matter. Read my reporting on that frustration.