'I'll do it': FBI director Kash Patel agrees to probe Trump-Epstein birthday letter
The letter was included as part of a 50th birthday album compiled in 2003 for Epstein, a wealthy and well-connected financier who was once a friend of Trump.
FBI Director Kash Patel has agreed to open an investigation into a controversial birthday note that US President Donald Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein on his birthday, the news agency ANI reported, quoting The Hill. Patel's statement came during questioning from Representative Jared Moskowitz during a House Oversight Committee hearing.
The White House has maintained that the note, which was published by Epstein's estate, includes a forged Trump signature. The letter features a sketch of a woman and a message implying that Trump and Epstein "share certain similarities."
'I'll do it': Kash Patel
"You've seen the picture of the woman's body with the president's signature -- he says it's not his. Will you open up an investigation into the Epstein estate for putting out a fake document?" Moskowitz asked.
Patel questioned the basis for an enquiry. Moskowitz replied, "They literally put out a fake document, according to the president, with a fake signature. It's a forgery of the president of the United States’ signature. That's the basis."
Patel then answered, "Sure, I'll do it."
The remarks come as pressure mounts in the US Congress for the release of the full set of Epstein case files.
Trump sued The Wall Street Journal
Trump has sued The Wall Street Journal for defamation over a July report detailing the alleged letter, while the White House continues to deny its authenticity. "It's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this month, adding that Trump's legal team will "continue to aggressively pursue litigation."
Earlier, Donald Trump dismissed demands for transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case, calling the push for more disclosures a "Democrat hoax," CNN reported.
"It's really a Democrat hoax, because they're trying to get people to talk about something that's totally irrelevant to the success that we have had as a nation since I have been president, said Trump, responding to reporters.
Trump says he cut ties with Epstein
Trump said recently that he cut ties with Epstein because he “stole” young women — including Virginia Giuffre, who was among Epstein's most well-known sex trafficking accusers — who worked for the spa at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The case against Epstein was brought more than a decade after he secretly cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of nearly identical allegations.
Trump had suggested during the presidential campaign that he'd seek to open the government's files into Epstein, but much of what the government has released so far had already been out there.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee received a copy of the birthday album on Monday as part of a batch of documents from Epstein's estate.
Trump has denied writing the letter and creating the drawing, calling The Wall Street Journal report on it “false, malicious, and defamatory."
"These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures," Trump said.
(With ANI inputs)
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