The Book That Surfaced at the Worst Possible Time
Back in 1991, Jack O’Donnell dropped Trumped!—his tell-all about running Trump Plaza. Buried in the casino drama was this gem: Trump and Jeffrey Epstein allegedly brought underage women onto the floor, breaking New Jersey law. One was reportedly 19-year-old tennis star Gabriela Sabatini.
A state inspector spotted her, flagged the violation, and warned O’Donnell that Trump could face serious heat if it happened again. Trump’s alleged response? “Jeffrey likes them young—too young for me.”
The publisher scrubbed Epstein’s name from the original edition. O’Donnell reconnected those dots after Epstein’s 2019 arrest.
O’Donnell tells the full story in an article at Slate.
Now it’s 2025, and that old story’s got company: Epstein’s 50th birthday album.
The Birthday Bombshell
In July, The Wall Street Journal reported Trump contributed to Epstein’s 2003 birthday book—curated by Ghislaine Maxwell herself. The alleged message included a drawing of a naked woman and this line: “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump’s name sat in the “Friends” section alongside Bill Clinton, Leon Black, and Vera Wang.
Trump’s response? Called it “fake,” denied it existed, and slapped the Journal and Rupert Murdoch with a $10 billion lawsuit.
Problem is, The New York Times and The Journal both confirmed the book exists. They’ve got contributor lists, photos, and Maxwell’s handwritten intro.
Media Goes Full Bloodhound Mode
The press smelled blood:
• Newsweek and Forbes published detailed timelines of Trump-Epstein connections—flights on the jet, Mar-a-Lago parties, signed notes calling Epstein “the greatest”
• The New Republic and Yahoo News highlighted the gap between Trump’s denials and mounting evidence
• Politico confirmed Clinton’s entry too—both presidents listed as “friends”
Meanwhile, Epstein content exploded. Julie K. Brown’s Perversion of Justice sold out. Netflix’s Filthy Rich saw a 268% spike in views. Epstein podcasts dominated Apple’s charts.
Nothing sells like a scandal involving powerful people trying to hide something.
The Political Meltdown
Trump’s team initially promised transparency. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Epstein’s “client list” was “sitting on my desk.”
Then came the 180: no list, no disclosures. Trump called it a “Democrat CON JOB” and accused critics of falling for a “Jeffrey Epstein HOAX.”
His own supporters weren’t buying it.
Congressional Democrats demanded Epstein’s files, including the birthday book. House Oversight subpoenaed Maxwell. DOJ officials confirmed Trump’s name in the documents—making the denials look even worse.
Why This Actually Matters
This isn’t about a birthday card or casino gossip. It’s about credibility and accountability.
The Epstein investigation’s been locked down tighter than Fort Knox. Now high-profile names are surfacing in official documents, and pressure’s mounting from both parties to release everything.
We know Trump knew Epstein—that’s settled. The real questions: How deep did it go? And why are so many people working overtime to bury the evidence?
The birthday book won’t go away because it represents something bigger: the public’s right to know what their leaders were really up to with one of history’s most notorious criminals.
Sometimes the cover-up tells you everything you need to know about what’s being covered.