US Justice Department says purported Epstein suicide letter to fellow sex offender is fake

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Justice Department on Tuesday dismissed as fake a purported letter from Jeffrey Epstein to fellow convicted sex offender and former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, despite its appearance in recently released documents and a reference to "our president."

"The FBI has confirmed this alleged letter ... is fake," the Department of Justice said on US social media company X following an earlier post that said it was investigating the letter's authenticity.

The document "was received by the jail, and flagged for the FBI at the time," it said, adding that the FBI had requested handwriting analysis in 2020, ultimately concluding that the writing does not match Epstein’s.

The agency highlighted three problematic details. It said the postmark on the envelope shows Virginia, not New York, where Epstein was jailed at the time.

The return address indicated the wrong prison where Epstein was being held, did not include his prisoner number, "which is required for outgoing mail," and was processed three days after Epstein's death.

"This fake letter serves as a reminder that just because a document is released ... does not make the allegations or claims within the document factual," it said.

The handwritten letter, attributed to Epstein and addressed to "L.N.," was part of 30,000 additional Epstein-related documents released Tuesday.

Written in August 2019, the month of Epstein's suicide, the letter references shared interests and crudely alludes to "our president," thought to be President Donald Trump, ending with "Life is unfair."

The Justice Department earlier said some files contain "untrue and sensationalist claims" against Trump.