On December 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a significant batch of approximately 30,000 pages of documents related to the investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Among the files was a handwritten letter purportedly from Epstein addressed to "L.N." — widely interpreted as Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of young female athletes. The letter contained inflammatory content referencing Epstein's apparent intent to die by suicide and making crude allegations about then-President Donald Trump's alleged preferences for "young, nubile girls."
However, hours after the release, the DOJ announced that the FBI had confirmed the letter was fake. This determination was based on several inconsistencies: the handwriting did not match Epstein's known samples; the envelope was postmarked from Northern Virginia rather than New York, where Epstein was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC); the return address incorrectly listed "Manhattan Correctional" instead of the proper facility name and omitted Epstein's required inmate number; and the postmark date was August 13, 2019 — three days after Epstein's death on August 10, 2019.
The DOJ emphasized in a statement that "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." The department also noted that the letter had been flagged for FBI review at the time it was originally discovered in the jail's mail room weeks after Epstein's death.
The existence of an attempted correspondence from Epstein to Nassar was first reported in 2023 by the Associated Press, based on Bureau of Prisons documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests. Those records indicated that a letter addressed to Nassar was found returned to sender in the MCC mail room after Epstein's suicide, but the contents were not disclosed at the time. A 2020 FBI document included in the recent release requested a handwriting analysis of the letter, though the results were not detailed in the public files.
The purported letter read as follows (as quoted in multiple reports):
"Dear L.N.,
As you know by now, I have taken the ‘short route’ home. Good luck!
We shared one thing … our love & caring for 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.
Yours, J. Epstein."
The reference to "our president" aligns with the timeline, as Donald Trump was in office in 2019. The phrase "grab snatch" appears to crudely allude to Trump's infamous 2016 Access Hollywood tape comment about grabbing women by the genitals. However, no law enforcement agency has ever accused Trump of wrongdoing related to Epstein's crimes, and Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein's illegal activities.
The envelope was addressed to Nassar at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, but returned because Nassar had been transferred elsewhere by that time (he is currently incarcerated at a facility in Florida or Pennsylvania, depending on updates). No prior public connection between Epstein and Nassar has been established.
Larry Nassar was convicted in 2017 and 2018 on federal child pornography charges and state sexual assault charges, receiving sentences effectively amounting to life in prison (60 years federally, plus 40-175 years in state court). His victims included prominent Olympic gymnasts such as Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas, and Jordyn Wieber, who accused him of abuse under the guise of medical treatment.
Jeffrey Epstein, a financier with ties to numerous high-profile figures, was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. He died in custody on August 10, 2019, in what the New York City medical examiner ruled a suicide by hanging. Conspiracy theories surrounding his death persist, but official investigations have upheld the suicide ruling.
The broader December 23 release included other documents mentioning Trump, such as flight logs from Epstein's private jet indicating Trump flew on it multiple times in the 1990s (sometimes with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted accomplice), and unsubstantiated tips or allegations submitted to the FBI. The DOJ stated that some files contained "untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election," adding that such claims were "unfounded and false" and lacked credibility to be pursued.
This release follows earlier tranches of Epstein files disclosed under a congressional mandate for transparency, signed into law by President Trump. The DOJ has released materials in batches, citing the need to redact victim information and sensitive details.
The inclusion and subsequent debunking of the fake letter highlight the challenges of transparency in high-profile cases involving misinformation. While the documents provide insight into Epstein's incarceration and investigations, experts caution that not all contents are verified or factual.
