Politics

The Epstein Letter Is Real, and It’s Bad

The president’s initial strategy of denying that the document exists leaves him with few options now that it has been made public.

First published in The Atlantic on September 8, 2025

by Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic

September 11, 2025 | reading time: 4 Min.

When The Wall Street Journal reported two months ago that Donald Trump had written a suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein in celebration of the notorious child abuser’s 50th birthday, in 2003, the administration had a choice of available responses. The strategy it went with was indignant denial..