The Wall Street Journal revealed another president whose name appeared in Jeffrey Epstein’s resurfaced birthday book from 2003.
Former president Bill Clinton appeared in the leather-bound album, reviewed by the Journal. Epstein’s former girlfriend and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly wanted high-profile names to be included in the present for her then-boyfriend — Clinton being one of them. The album included messages from around five dozen individuals, most notably including President Donald Trump, Wall Street billionaire Leon Black, fashion designer Vera Wang, media executive Mort Zuckerman and former Victoria’s Secret head Leslie Wexner.
Clinton’s message, as reviewed by the Journal, was just a single paragraph in his “distinctive scrawl.” It read:
It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.
The former president, who served two terms from 1993 to 2001, was photographed with Epstein and Maxwell at the White House in 1993. He was also known to have socialized with the financier turned convicted child sex offender in the early 2000s.
A spokesperson for Clinton reiterated to the Wall Street Journal that he cut ties with Epstein more than a decade before his 2019 arrest and was unaware of his crimes.
According to a statement from Clinton’s team in 2019, Clinton took four trips on Epstein’s private jet and once visited his Manhattan townhouse, each time with his Secret Service team and for reasons related to the Clinton Foundation’s work.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported on July 17 that President Donald Trump was also included in the 50th birthday journal, with a cryptic third-person fictional conversation between him and Epstein: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the concluding line read. The message also included a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, according to the Journal’s report.
The next day Trump sued the reporters, the WSJ’s publisher Dow Jones and its parent company News Corp, claiming the letter was “nonexistent” and a “fake thing.”
A spokeswoman for Dow Jones said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
The leather-bound birthday album was divided into sections and even had a table of contents. Clinton and Trump were listed under the “Friends” section. Others were included under sections titled “Business,” “Science,” “Brooklyn” and “Family.”
The message from bridal designer Wang joked that Epstein should be put on “The Bachelor” and suggested they go on a shopping trip. The letter from Wexner, the retail billionaire, contained a short message and a drawing of what appeared to be a woman’s breasts. Both Wang and Wexner declined to comment to the Journal.
Wall Street billionaire Black’s message was a handwritten suggestive poem. The Journal included two lines of the poem in its report, which read:
Blonde, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically
With this net of fish, Jeff’s now ‘The Old Man and The Sea’
Other prominent names included in the birthday book were attorney Alan Dershowitz, billionaire and former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, the late modeling agency head Jean-Luc Brunel, the late Alan “Ace” Greenberg, the late James “Jimmy” Cayne.
The Wall Street Journal claimed that several digital copies of the birthday book exist. Pages have been reviewed by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein and Maxwell years ago, according to people familiar with the matter, but it is unclear whether or not the pages are part of the Trump administration’s recent review of the Epstein case files.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump in May that his name appeared in the Epstein files, according to a Wednesday report from the Wall Street Journal. The Trump administration claimed earlier this month, in joint findings from the Justice Department and the DOJ, that there was no incriminating Epstein “client list” to release or proof Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.
Epstein died in jail in 2019 after he was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of helping Epstein’s sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
