‘I’ll do it’: FBI’s Kash Patel to ‘probe’ Trump-Epstein birthday note; trouble ahead for US president?

FBI director Kash Patel said on Wednesday he would be open to investigating a birthday note that Donald Trump allegedly wrote to the late Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday. The statement came under questioning from Rep. Jared Moskowitz during a House Oversight Committee hearing.Moskowitz pressed Patel on whether he would investigate the Epstein estate for releasing a document that the White House has denounced as a forgery. “You’ve seen the picture of the woman’s body with the president’s signature—he says it’s not his. Will you open up an investigation?” Moskowitz asked. After initially questioning the basis for such an inquiry, Patel responded: “Sure, I’ll do it.”The document, released by Epstein’s estate, shows an outline of a female figure with a message suggesting that Trump and Epstein “have certain things in common,” according to The Hill. The White House insists the signature is fake. Last week, Oversight Committee chair James Comer rejected Democratic calls to bring in a handwriting expert, saying the panel’s focus should remain on Epstein’s victims and possible government involvement. “I don’t think a birthday card 20 years ago has any relevance whatsoever,” Comer said.Trump has denied authoring the note and sued The Wall Street Journal for defamation over a July report about the alleged letter. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” adding that his legal team would continue pursuing litigation. The controversy comes as members of Congress increase pressure for the release of the full Epstein case files. Trump has dismissed those calls as a partisan ploy, labelling them a “Democrat hoax.”