美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)周二晚上在华盛顿特区乔氏海鲜店(Joe's Seafood)外对记者发表讲话时，首次在镜头前对杰弗里·爱泼斯坦(Jeffrey EP stein)50岁“生日书”中的一幅画和签名做出反应，据称他在2003年签了名——完全否认书中的内容是他的签名或他的“语言”。
“这不是我的签名。这不是我说话的方式。任何长期报道我的人都知道——那不是我的语言，”特朗普在被美国广播公司的汉娜·德米斯问及此事时说道。
“这是胡说八道，”他补充道。
周一，众议院监督委员会的民主党人发布了一张生日贺词的图片据称是特朗普发出的，在小组收到来自爱泼斯坦遗产的文件和通信后。
特朗普否认写了这封信，称其为“假的”，此前《华尔街日报》在7月中旬首次报道了这本生日册和特朗普的所谓贡献。特朗普还对该报提起了100亿美元的诽谤诉讼。《华尔街日报》的母公司道琼斯表示，对报道的准确性充满信心。
特朗普在接受美国全国广播公司新闻(NBC News)采访时，在电话中称之为“死亡问题”。
“我不会对已经没有争议的问题发表评论。我把所有的意见都给了员工。这是一个死问题，”特朗普周二早上说，据报道NBC新闻。
政府高级官员否认生日祝词上的签名属于总统。
“总统没有写这封信。他没有在这封信上签名。这就是为什么总统的外部法律团队正在积极寻求对《华尔街日报》提起诉讼，他们将继续这样做，”白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特在周二的新闻发布会上说。
当被问及政府是否支持由专业笔迹专家进行审查时，莱维特说“当然”他们会支持。
众议院监督委员会主席、肯塔基州共和党人詹姆斯·科莫(James Comer)周二将矛头对准了委员会中的民主党人，因为他们处理了从爱泼斯坦遗产公司收到的文件。
“民主党人，他们在那里发现一件事，他们宣传它，并试图得到一个故事。这次调查的目的是为受害者伸张正义，追究责任。
卡莫告诉美国广播公司新闻国会山记者杰伊·奥布莱恩，他还没有“看签名”，但他说他相信特朗普对生日消息的否认。
卡莫告诉记者，该委员会预计将收到更多的文件，作为其爱普斯坦调查的一部分。
“我们有更多的文件，我们希望进入，”他说。“我们将带很多人来作证，所以这项调查进展非常迅速，希望我们很快就能得到一些答案和一些正义。”
针对围绕所谓的生日书和所谓的特朗普来信的事态发展，数十名爱泼斯坦幸存者的律师布拉德·爱德华兹(Brad Edwards)周一表示，特朗普的“虚伪让受害者最沮丧。”
“他告诉公众，爱泼斯坦的故事应该‘消失’，但提起100亿美元的诉讼，只会放大他希望沉默的问题，”爱德华兹告诉美国广播公司新闻。“随着今天的释放，他至少可以撤回诉讼，并向他攻击的记者公开道歉，因为他们报道了现在看来已被证明是真实的事情。”
莱维特星期二被问及关于爱泼斯坦幸存者的问题，以及总统是否愿意会见他们。她说，特朗普“关心所有罪行的受害者”，然后转向批评民主党人，她声称民主党人“拼命试图编造一个骗局来诽谤美国总统。”
莱维特在早些时候的新闻发布会上称爱泼斯坦的传奇故事是“针对美国总统的骗局”，他被要求进一步解释白宫认为是“骗局”的内容，以及他们对这些文件如何出现在爱泼斯坦遗产的解释。
“我没有说这些文件是个骗局。莱维特回应道:“我说过，现在围绕杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的、正在吸收电视上许多自由派有线电视频道的整个叙述是一个骗局。”。
“民主党人认为这个故事只不过是试图转移对本届政府成就和成就的注意力，这就是我们所说的骗局的意思，”她补充说。
该小组的资深成员、民主党众议员罗伯特·加西亚(Robert Garcia)在周一披露消息后表示，特朗普在爱泼斯坦问题上需要承担更多责任。
加西亚在一份声明中说:“监督委员会已经获得了臭名昭著的‘生日簿’，其中包含特朗普总统的一张纸条，他说这张纸条不存在。”“是时候让总统告诉我们他所知道的真相，并公布所有爱泼斯坦的文件了。美国人民要求得到答案。”
爱泼斯坦于2019年7月被捕，并在联邦起诉书中被控共谋和儿童性贩运。一个月后，他在候审期间死于羁押中。他的死亡被裁定为上吊自杀。
'It's not my signature': Trump says about alleged Epstein 'birthday book' letter
President Donald Trump offered his first on-camera reaction to a drawing and signature in Jeffrey Epstein's 50th "birthday book" which he allegedly signed in 2003 -- denying completely that what is in the book is his signature or his "language," while speaking to reporters outside of Joe's Seafood in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night.
"It's not my signature. And it's not the way I speak. And anybody that's covered me for a long time, knows -- that's not my language,” Trump said, when asked about the matter by ABC's Hannah Demissie.
"It's nonsense," he added.
On Monday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committeereleased an image of the birthday messageallegedly sent by Trump, after the panel received documents and communications from Epstein's estate.
Trump has denied writing the letter, calling it "fake" after the Wall Street Journal first reported on the birthday book and the alleged contribution from Trump in mid-July. Trump also filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper. Dow Jones, the parent company of the Journal, said it has full confidence in the accuracy of the reporting.
Trump called it a "dead issue" on the phone when asked by NBC News.
"I don't comment on something that's a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It's a dead issue," Trump said on Tuesday morning, according toNBC News.
Top administration officials have denied that the signature on the birthday message belongs to the president.
"The president did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter. And that's why the president's external legal team is aggressively pursuing litigation against the Wall Street Journal, and they will continue to do so," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Tuesday's press briefing.
When asked if the administration would support a review by a professional handwriting expert, Leavitt said "sure" they would.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, on Tuesday took aim at Democrats on the panel for their handling of the documents received from the Epstein estate.
"The Democrats, they find one thing in there, and they promote it and try to get a narrative. This investigation is about providing justice and accountability for the victims," Comer said.
Comer told ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O'Brien that he hasn't "looked at the signature yet," but said he believes Trump's denials about the birthday message.
Comer told reporters the committee expects to receive more documents as part of its Epstein probe.
"We've got a lot more documents we expect to get in," he said. "We're going to bring a lot of people in for deposition, so this investigation is moving along very rapidly, and hopefully we'll get some answers and some justice very soon."
In response to the developments surrounding the so-called birthday book and the alleged letter from Trump, Brad Edwards, an attorney for scores of Epstein survivors, said on Monday that Trump's "hypocrisy has been most frustrating for the victims."
"He told the public the Epstein story should 'go away,' yet filed a $10 billion lawsuit that only magnifies the very issue he wants silenced," Edwards told ABC News. "With today's release, the least he could do is withdraw that lawsuit and publicly apologize to the journalists he attacked for reporting what seems to have now proved to be true."
Leavitt was asked on Tuesday about Epstein survivors and if the president is willing to meet with them. She said Trump "cares about victims of all crimes" before turning to criticizing Democrats, who she claimed were "desperately trying to concoct a hoax to smear the president of the United States."
Leavitt, who earlier in the press briefing called the Epstein saga "a hoax against the president of the United States," was asked to further explain what the White House viewed as the "hoax" and their explanation for how these documents came to be at the Epstein estate.
"I did not say the documents are a hoax. I said the entire narrative surrounding Jeffrey Epstein right now that is absorbing many of the liberal cable channels on television is a hoax," Leavitt responded.
"The Democrats view this story as nothing more than an attempt to distract from the accomplishments and the achievements of this administration, and that is what we mean when we call it a hoax," she added.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the panel, said after Monday's disclosure that Trump has more to answer for on the Epstein matter.
"The Oversight Committee has secured the infamous 'Birthday Book' that contains a note from President Trump that he has said does not exist," Garcia said in a statement. "It's time for the President to tell us the truth about what he knew and release all the Epstein files. The American people are demanding answers."
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy and child sex trafficking. He died in custody a month later, while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
