“Did you see the signature?”: Leavitt dodges questions about Epstein documents

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt faced a barrage of questions on Tuesday over a crude birthday letter allegedly signed by Donald Trump and sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.

Pressed by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman on what exactly Trump meant when he called the Epstein case files a “hoax,” Leavitt tried to broaden the charge.

“I did not say the documents are a hoax,” she said. “I said the entire narrative surrounding Jeffrey Epstein right now that is absorbing many of the liberal cable channels on television is a hoax. The hoax is the Democrats pretending to care about victims of crime when they do not care about victims of crime.”

Leavitt said Democrats were attempting “to distract from the accomplishments and the achievements of this administration.”

HABERMAN: You said the Epstein docs are a hoax that Dems are perpetrating against Trump. You said he didn’t sign that check or birthday card. So what is the theory since these documents came from the Epstein estate?

LEAVITT: I did not say the documents are a hoax. I said the… pic.twitter.com/EffiCvb0S6

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 9, 2025

Leavitt also dismissed other alleged evidence of a connection between Trump and Epstein that was previously unknown, including a $22,000 check said to bear Trump’s signature.

“Did you see the signature on that check? It is not Donald Trump’s signature. It is absolutely not,” she said.

Reporters asked Leavitt whether Trump cares about Epstein’s victims. A group of such victims held a press conference alongside lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier this month, as part of a wider push for transparency around Epstein.

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“The President cares about victims of all crimes,” Leavitt said before accusing Democrats of using victims as “political pawns.”

When asked directly by former Breitbart and current Daily Mail reporter Charlie Spiering if Trump would meet with Epstein’s victims, Leavitt did not answer.