Vice President JD Vance condemned The Wall Street Journal for its exclusive story highlighting the close ties between President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein as recently as 2003, despite having previously criticized journalists for "not asking questions" about the case.
Ghislaine Maxwell gifted Epstein a 50th birthday album in 2003. In it were "poems, photos, and greetings from businesspeople, academics, Epstein's former girlfriends, childhood pals, and, among others, real estate mogul Donald J. Trump," WSJ reported.
Trump's entry featured a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, marked with small arcs to indicate breasts and his "Donald" signature placed below the waist to represent pubic hair. Inside the figure, he wrote an imagined dialogue between himself and Epstein, ending with the line: "Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret."
Since the story's publication, Trump has threatened to sue the outlet, saying, "Just like I sued everyone else," according to the WSJ. Additionally, other Trump officials have come forward to defend the president against allegations that he wrote the inappropriate birthday message or had ties to Epstein at that time, including Vance.
"Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bulls--t. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it," Vance wrote in a scathing X post shared shortly after the story was published.
"Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?" he added.
Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bullshit. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 17, 2025
Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump? https://t.co/KHsTFOSl34
In a follow-up comment, Vance asked whether publishing "a letter like this without showing it to the victim of this hit piece" violated "some rule of journalistic ethics."
"Will the people who have bought into every hoax against President Trump show an ounce of skepticism before buying into this bizarre story?" he continued.
Doesn’t it violate some rule of journalistic ethics to publish a letter like this without showing it to the victim of this hit piece?
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 17, 2025
Will the people who have bought into every hoax against President Trump show an ounce of skepticism before buying into this bizarre story?
Since becoming a Trump official, Vance has changed his tune. In 2021, he criticized the very journalists now reporting on the Epstein files, accusing them of failing to do their jobs by not asking why the U.S. government was keeping Epstein's client lists secret.
"If you're a journalist and you're not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself," he wrote in an X post shared on Dec. 30, 2021. "What purpose do you even serve? I'm sure there's a middle class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now but maybe try to do your job once in a while."
If you’re a journalist and you’re not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself. What purpose do you even serve? I’m sure there’s a middle class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now but maybe try to do your job once in a while.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 30, 2021
Following intense scrutiny and pushback after his administration's refusal to release the so-called Epstein files last week, Trump revealed in a Truth Social post shared Thursday that he had ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi "to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!"
Within minutes, Bondi echoed Trump's call with a screenshot of his post shared to her X account.
"President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts," she wrote.
President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts. pic.twitter.com/hOXzdTcYYB
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 18, 2025
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