The Jeffrey Epstein saga is causing new problems for President Trump.

This time, it’s raising questions about the strategy he and his aides have adopted in denying any involvement in a book prepared for the deceased financier and sexual predator’s 50th birthday.

The emphatic strategy was risky from the start — and now looks very flimsy, indeed.

As a consequence, the president has given fresh impetus to a story that has disquieted even parts of his base. It’s a story Trump is eager to move past — yet he keeps doing things that put that goal further out of reach.

This chapter of the Epstein matter began when The Wall Street Journal was first to report, in July, that an Epstein birthday book contained a “letter bearing Trump’s name.” This letter also comprised “several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker.”

The Journal story went on: “A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair. The letter concludes: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.'”

Trump blasted the story instantly as “a fake thing,” adding, “I never wrote a picture in my life.”

On Monday, a letter matching up with that description became public, having........

© The Hill