A lawyer who has represented over 200 victims of Jeffrey Epstein says the existence of a book given to the sex offender for his 50th birthday is an “absolute fact.”
Attorney Bradley Edwards says the 2003 birthday book, which allegedly contains a letter from Donald Trump, is in the possession of the Epstein estate in Florida.
The birthday book was revealed last week by The Wall Street Journal, which claimed that Donald Trump included a bawdy letter to his then-friend Epstein. It allegedly contained a sketch of a naked woman with a “squiggly” signature of “Donald” appearing below the woman’s waist, as if to mimic pubic hair.
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The president has insisted the letter is “fake” and is suing the publication.
Speaking to Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC’s The Last Word on Wednesday, the lawyer, who released the book, Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein in 2020, said “multiple” victims of the financier and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell that he represents had knowledge of the existence of the birthday book.
“I do know that they were involved in the assembly of the book, several of them,” Edwards said. “They were told by Ghislaine to assist in putting the book together. Others have seen the book post-birthday and after it was assembled. So the existence of the book is an absolute fact.”
Edwards said he knows the Epstein estate executors personally and believes they would happily hand over the item if issued with a subpoena by Congress.
“They would turn the book over immediately,” Edwards said. “Nobody would have to guess. You would immediately have the answers. You could flip to the page. Is there a letter? Is there not a letter? It’s over. The victims then get to move on. But that’s not what’s happening. Real people are being hurt here. The truth matters, transparency actually matters. Get this over with and get it behind us.”
Edwards added that if the book does get released, “it should probably be set in the Smithsonian as an artifact at this point in time.”
“It’s going to go down in history,” he said. “So that the world can see this book and they’ll know who were Jeffrey Epstein’s best friends at the time? What letters did his family write to him? What other pictures were in there? Redact victim names, release the book and move on.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on the claims.
“Now, who wrote letters, what’s in the book?” Edwards added. “You’re going to have to get the book to figure it out. But this isn’t something that needs to be a mystery forever and drag the victims into all kinds of anxiety, for nothing. We can get that answer pretty quickly.“
He continued, “You have to remember that Jeffrey Epstein was abusing and exploiting young women and children every day of his life. So anybody that’s around for any major events, such as the assembly of his 50th birthday book, they’re going to have to be involved in assembling or playing their part, whatever they were directed to do with respect to that book.”
The lawyer said at least 50 of the Epstein victims he has represented were under 18, with the youngest being 14.
Responding to Edwards’ claims, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna told O’Donnell he will invite Edwards to meet with the House Oversight Committee and move for a subpoena to get the book from Epstein’s estate.
“I think we can easily move forward on this subpoena of that birthday book, which could really advance this case,” Khanna said.
“Bombshell revelation by Bradley Edwards on Lawrence tonight,” Khanna later tweeted. “The Epstein birthday book is in the hands of the Epstein estate. Lawyers will turn it over. I will work with @OversightDems to subpoena. This is about the victims and justice.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announcing his plan to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell in jail has upset victims, Edwards said, claiming they are already suffering “enormous anxiety” about the scandal becoming a political issue again.
“The one thing that has really alarmed our clients is the information that now Ghislaine Maxwell is being visited in jail and that she is somehow being given some credibility and a platform on this particular topic. Does she have information that could potentially help? Yes. Will she be truthful about it? Who knows?“
He added, “I have many clients who say, ‘President Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell were good friends back then. Is he going to pardon her?’ For him to do that, would be, he thought about you and he decided you do not matter. I don’t think that is on the table, maybe I’m putting too much trust in him.”
