Trump denies authenticity of alleged Epstein birthday letter

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump denied sending a birthday letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, calling the document released by House Democrats "nonsense."

"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 told reporters Tuesday, disputing the letter's authenticity.

"It's nonsense. And frankly, you're wasting your time," he said.

The House Oversight Committee released a copy of the letter Monday written within a doodle of what appears to be a naked woman's body and signed "Donald."

The White House said it would support a handwriting forensics analyst reviewing the alleged birthday letter.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on its existence and published analysis suggesting similarities between the signature and font to other Trump correspondence from 2000 and 2006.

The White House has strongly denied its authenticity and the president has launched a lawsuit against the newspaper.

"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," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.