In yet another unsettling reminder of how deeply Jeffrey Epstein was connected to America’s elite, former President Bill Clinton is now facing renewed scrutiny following a handwritten note he allegedly penned for the disgraced financier’s 50th birthday.
As reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, the letter praised Epstein’s “childlike curiosity” and friendship—sentiments that appear jarring in hindsight, given Epstein’s long-known criminal conduct.
The note, written in Clinton’s recognizable handwriting, was included in a leather-bound birthday tribute album compiled in 2003 by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate and convicted sex trafficker.
The album, which also featured entries from figures including Donald Trump, billionaire investor Leon Black, and fashion designer Vera Wang, was prepared years before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006, but long after disturbing questions about his behavior had begun to swirl.
Clinton’s message reads in part:
“It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.”
A spokesman for Clinton declined to comment directly on the note, instead reiterating previous claims that the former president severed ties with Epstein well before his 2019 arrest and subsequent suicide in federal custody.
Clinton has publicly stated he “knows nothing” of Epstein’s crimes and maintains that his travel on Epstein’s jet—some 26 flights according to flight logs—was related to Clinton Foundation work and always included Secret Service agents.
But for many Americans, especially those who still believe in accountability for the powerful, the revelations raise uncomfortable questions about how far elites were willing to look the other way.
The use of phrases like “childlike curiosity” now reads as chilling, given Epstein’s well-documented abuse of underage girls.
That such language came from a former president—a man already dogged by his own history of sexual misconduct allegations—only sharpens the discomfort.
The resurfacing of the Clinton letter comes days after another eyebrow-raising entry in the birthday album made headlines. According to the Journal, Donald Trump allegedly included a crude sketch of a naked woman alongside a suggestive message.
Trump, however, has denied the existence of the note and responded forcefully, filing a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch himself.
In a Truth Social post, Trump declared the story “100% fake” and said he would “sue his ass off.”
With Epstein’s legacy casting a long shadow over both political parties, the public is left to sort through a web of friendships and favors that once flourished in plain sight.
While Trump has moved swiftly to denounce the reporting, Clinton’s silence—and the eerie content of his note—may only deepen skepticism about how much some in power knew and how little they said.
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