WSJ Reveals More Big Names in Epstein's Birthday Book

The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal has been hitting hard at President Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, including a recent report that Trump's name appeared multiple times in some capacity in the so-called Epstein files, and that he was informed of that fact by Attorney General Pam Bondi in May. Another report focused on a birthday book presented to Epstein on his 50th birthday that included a "bawdy" message from Trump—but now a new Journal story names other big names that contributed to that commemorative album.

• Clinton: Perhaps the most notable name in the gift assembled in 2003 by Epstein partner Ghislaine Maxwell is former President Bill Clinton, who penned a single paragraph: "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."

• Other names: The Journal reports that about five dozen people contributed to the Epstein birthday book, including billionaire Leon Black, fashion giant Vera Wang, attorney Alan Dershowitz, and media tycoon Mort Zuckerman. Wang's entry joked that Epstein should go on the reality show The Bachelor, while Black wrote a poem that included the lines: "Blonde, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically / With this net of fish, Jeff's now 'The Old Man and The Sea.'"
• The book as a whole: It's described by the Journal as having "multiple volumes" and "a table of contents that [lists] the contributions, organized into groups" (business, family, etc.). Clinton and Trump were listed in the "Friends" category. The contents, meanwhile, featured innocuous birthday messages, as well as lewd notes and "crude jokes about sex."
• Lawyer for Epstein victims: Brad Edwards told MSNBC on Wednesday, "The existence of the book is an absolute fact."
• JD Vance: Trump has already denied his contribution to the book, and now the vice president is also weighing in. "I have no idea if the book exists—WSJ won't show it to us," he tweeted on Thursday in response to MSNBC reporter Chris Hayes, who was holding his feet to the fire online over the birthday book. "What I find absurd is the idea that Donald Trump was writing poems to Epstein, and I find it equally absurd that a major American paper would attack the President of the United States without revealing the basis for the attack."