Epstein letter to Larry Nassar is fake, Justice Department says
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Photo of letter released in Epstein files on Dec. 23. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
The Justice Department on Tuesday said a letter in the trove of Epstein files addressed from Jeffrey Epstein to convicted sex offender Larry Nassar is fake and that the handwriting "does not appear to match" Epstein's.
Why it matters: For a short time, the graphic letter appeared to be one of the strongest links yet between President Trump and Epstein, as it referred to "our president," who was Donald Trump at the time.
- But the Justice Department says the FBI has confirmed the letter is not real.
- Though Trump is mentioned multiple times in Tuesday's batch of files, he has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
- The White House referred Axios to the Justice Department for comment.
Context: Larry Nassar, a former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, was sentenced to 40-175 years in prison in 2018 after 160 women accused him of sexually abusing them under the pretense of medical treatment.
- The letter was one of about 30,000 pages released after the DOJ was criticized for an earlier, heavily redacted rollout.
Driving the news: "As you know by now, I have taken the 'short route' home" the letter, released by the DOJ earlier Tuesday, read. "Good luck! We shared one thing... our love & caring of young ladies and the hope they'd reach their full potential."
- "Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls. 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."
- It was signed "J. Epstein."
What they're saying: The letter was postmarked in northern Virginia three days after Epstein's death, the Justice Department said. Epstein died in a New York federal prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
- "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. Nevertheless, the DOJ will continue to release all material required by law," the DOJ's statement said.
- The DOJ said the return address didn't correctly list the prison where Epstein was held and didn't include his inmate number, which is required for outgoing mail.
Between the lines: Also in Tuesday's document release was a request for a laboratory examination of the August 2019 letter from July 2020. In that request, it said "J. Epstein, Manhattan Correctional, NYC NY 10007" was written in the top left corner.
- "FBI New York requests the Laboratory perform a handwriting analysis comparing the letter received from [Manhattan Correctional Center] and the handwriting of Jeffrey Epstein to conclude if the individual who wrote the letter was Epstein or another unknown person," the request said.
- It is unclear if the FBI's conclusion released Tuesday was in response to this 2020 analysis request. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Go deeper: New Epstein files release includes Trump mentions. What they say
