WASHINGTON (TNND) -- The White House would support a handwriting expert to confirm that President Donald Trump didn't write or sign a controversial birthday note for Jeffrey Epstein, according to the president's press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The president did not write this letter," Leavitt said during a news briefing Tuesday after a reporter asked her about the note. "He did not sign this letter."
Leavitt added that "opportunistic" Democrats are "desperately trying to concoct a hoax" against Trump, as well as exploiting Epstein's alleged victims, in an attempt to discredit the accomplishments Trump has made since January.
They could have cared about those victims four years ago when Joe Biden was in office," Leavitt said of Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna. "They could have pushed for transparency then. Unfortunately, the Democrats are using victims as political pawns to try to smear and push a hoax against the president of the United States."
Leavitt also said the Trump administration cares about victims of all crimes, noting that Trump has locked up more child predators than presidents before him.
We have done more than any president to protect victims of crimes, especially disgusting, heinous sexual crimes, and that includes the deportation of illegal aliens, who are perpetrating these crimes against innocent victims in our country," she said.
Leavitt made the comments Tuesday, which was one day after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released an image of a letter they claimed Trump wrote and signed.
We got Trump's birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn't exist," they noted in a post shared on X. "Trump talks about a 'wonderful secret' the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files!"
The note is allegedly part of a collection of birthday messages that were sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday more than 20 years ago.
It is among some 50 greetings that appear in a birthday book compiled for Epstein in 2003, years before Epstein faced charges related to sexual exploitation of underage girls. Other notes appear to come from Epstein's relatives, including his father, and from business executives and scientists.
Some of the entries in the collection are strictly well wishes, congratulations and benign birthday messages. Others are crude or sexually explicit, reminiscing about supposed past exploits or referencing Epstein's focus on meeting women. It includes photos of Epstein, sometimes wearing little or nothing, as well as friends and associates.
Trump said he did not write the sexually suggestive letter to Epstein or create the drawing of a curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter.
I don't comment on something that's a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It's a dead issue," Trump, who has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago, told NBC News on Tuesday.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking children, but died by suicide in his jail cell before he was tried in court.