REUTERS, Washington

Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Monday made public a birthday letter Donald Trump allegedly wrote to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago, though the White House quickly denied its authenticity.

The letter, the existence of which was reported by the Wall Street Journal in July, appears to have been signed by Trump, but he has denied doing so and has said it does not exist.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released the letter after Congress received the 2003 “birthday book” from Epstein’s lawyers. The letter is dated three years before allegations of sex abuse by Epstein became public in 2006.

Later on Monday, Republicans who control the Oversight Committee released hundreds of pages of documents turned over by Epstein’s lawyers, including the full “birthday book,” Epstein’s will and his 2007 non-prosecution agreement with prosecutors in Florida.

The birthday letter contains text of a purported dialogue between Trump and Epstein in which Trump calls him a “pal” and says, “May every day be another wonderful secret.” The text sits within a crude sketch of the silhouette of a naked woman.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich denounced the release, saying the signature on the letter was not Trump’s and alluded to Trump’s lawsuit against the Journal’s parent company, News Corp.