Donald Trump has called the Jeffrey Epstein story a 'dead issue'. But in a week of blockbuster new revelations, Epstein's criminality - and its consequences - continue to haunt many of his former associates.
The so-called birthday book of wishes given to Epstein in 2003, that was publicly released on Monday, has given new ammunition to Trump's critics, and it will also keep his base and the wider public clamoring for more details.
It may not be a proverbial smoking gun – an undeniable link to wrongdoing that destroys careers or supercharges criminal investigations. But it is concrete, troubling evidence of the close relationship the late financier and convicted sex offender had with the rich and powerful.
That alone makes it an explosive and compelling story – one that is capturing the public's attention in ways a typical political story does not.
Make no mistake, while there is no suggestion of criminal wrongdoing by Trump, the political consequences of the Epstein saga on the president are very real.
He is vulnerable on this issue. His attempts to deflect or dismiss it have failed.
And he has at times lashed out at his own base for their fixation on the story - an interest he encouraged as recently as last year.
How the birthday book changed the story
While the 2003 book, compiled by Epstein's then-girlfriend and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, is full of dozens of personal notes, it is the one purportedly from Trump that has turned this from a tragic story of sex trafficking and exploitation into one of national partisan intrigue.
The details of the note – an imagined dialogue between Trump and Epstein full of innuendo and double-entendres – have been known since the Wall Street Journal reported on them in July.
One fragment of a larger mosaic
A greater concern for the White House than the specific revelation of the note, however, is the way in which the birthday book will fuel wider interest in, and attention to, the Epstein case.
There is still plenty the public could learn with the release of more Epstein documents, including witness statements and financial records.
The Epstein saga, which seemed to be old news earlier this year, is approaching a self-sustaining critical mass that will be difficult for anyone to contain.
