Bill Clinton reportedly wrote letter in Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book, WSJ says
FILE-Former President Bill Clinton delivers a speech in front of government headquarters in Tirana on July 3, 2023. (Photo by ADNAN BECI/AFP via Getty Images)
Editor's note: "The Wall Street Journal shares common ownership with Fox. Fox has not independently confirmed the truth of the Wall Street Journal’s reporting."
Former President Bill Clinton was named as one of the people who wrote a letter to Jeffrey Epstein in a 2003 birthday book, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The Wall Street Journal noted Thursday that Epstein, who died in 2019 in prison while awaiting trial, had Clinton, billionaire Leon Black, and Donald Trump listed as "friends" in the 2003 book’s table of contents.
Clinton and Trump’s notes were reportedly part of a collection of birthday letters that Maxwell gathered in an album that she gave Epstein for his 50th birthday.
RELATED: DOJ meets with Ghislaine Maxwell: 'She answered every single question'
Newsweek reported Friday that Clinton’s name has appeared in documents connected to Epstein, and the former president’s name is in court documents released in 2024. The news outlet added that Clinton has said he knows nothing about Epstein’s alleged crimes.
News of the Clinton letter comes a day after the Department of Justice met with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, at a Florida prison on Thursday where she’s serving a 20-year sentence.
Clinton birthday letter to Epstein
Dig deeper:
Citing the Wall Street Journal report, Newsweek noted that former President Bill Clinton's letter to Jeffrey Epstein was written in Clinton’s "distinctive scrawl."
"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," Clinton’s note reportedly said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
RELATED: Trump files lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over story about Epstein birthday letter: Reports
The former president’s ties to Epstein reportedly were publicly known for years and included travel on his plane after he had left office, Politico reported, citing court records.
According to Politico, a Clinton spokesperson said several years ago that the former president severed ties with Epstein before the wealthy financier's arrest in 2019, with Clinton saying he was unaware of Epstein’s alleged crimes.
Trump sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday letter story
The other side:
President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal on July 18 after the news outlet reported that he wrote a birthday note to Epstein which featured typewritten texts and an outline of a naked woman, sketched in marker. Trump denied writing the note to Jeffrey Epstein, telling the Associated Press last week, "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures."
Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi on July 17 to pursue the release of grand jury materials tied to Jeffrey Epstein. The president’s announcement came after the Department of Justice released a memo asserting that Epstein had no blackmail "client list," didn’t extort anyone, and died by suicide. The memo, meant to quell speculation, only added fuel to the fire.
The Justice Department in February had distributed a binder labeled The Epstein Files: Phase 1 to a group of Republican influencers. Many later said it contained mostly already-public information.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Wall Street Journal, which cites an excerpt from former President Bill Clinton’s letter, previous LIVENOW from FOX reporting, Newsweek, and Politico. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.