The Justice Department on Tuesday released thousands of additional files on Jeffrey Epstein, including a letter he allegedly wrote behind bars to fellow predator Larry Nassar that appeared to suggest President Donald Trump shared their “love” of young girls.
The DOJ issued a statement later in the day saying that the letter was “fake.”
The letter was postmarked Aug. 13, 2019, during Trump’s first term, and returned to sender.
“Dear L.N., As you know by now, I have taken the ‘short route’ home,” the letter reads. “Good luck! We shared one thing … our love & caring for young ladies and the hope they’d reach their full potential. Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls.”
The letter continued, “When a young beauty walked by he loved to ‘grab snatch,’ whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system. Life is unfair.”
Nassar pleaded guilty in 2017 to possession of child pornography and sexually assaulting young women and girls under the guise of medical treatment as a doctor for the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team.
Left: Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images; Right: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images
Epstein was found dead in his cell Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death, which was ruled a suicide, and known ties to powerful people fueled theories of a “client list” that Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed in February to release.
His purported letter was part of a new tranche of documents released overnight after the Justice Department failed to meet a Friday deadline to publish its full set of Epstein files. The documents released Tuesday included a chain of custody log showing the letter was discovered on Sept. 25, 2019, as well as a laboratory examination request from the FBI regarding a handwriting analysis.
The DOJ denied the letter’s authenticity on Tuesday afternoon.
“The FBI has confirmed this alleged letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar is FAKE,” the department said on X.
The statement went on to note that the envelope’s postmark was from Virginia, not New York, where Epstein was incarcerated. The DOJ also said the letter did not include Epstein’s inmate number, which would have been required for outgoing mail, and was not postmarked until three days after he was found dead. The department also said the handwriting seen in the letter “does not appear to match” Epstein’s.
“This fake letter serves as a reminder that just because a document is released by the Department of Justice does not make the allegations or claims within the document factual,” the statement said.
While the letter itself had not been published before, The Associated Press reported on its existence in June 2023 and cited the investigator who found it, who told a prison official via email at the time, “It appeared he mailed it out and it was returned back to him.”
They continued, “I am not sure if I should open it or should we hand it over to anyone?”
The letter can be found here; a scan of the envelope it was sent in can be found here.