The latest batch of documents released by a US congressional committee from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein offer a glimpse of the late convicted sex offender's elite social circle.

They also confirm a Wall Street Journal report earlier this summer about a collection of messages, crude drawings and pictures which were given to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003 - three years before his crimes became publicly known - which included an alleged letter from the now-President Donald Trump.

Trump has said the letter is fake and a signature at the bottom is not his. He also sued the newspaper's reporters, publisher and executives, including News Corp's owner Rupert Murdoch, seeking $10bn (£7.4bn) in damages after the story was published.

But beyond the purported letter from Trump, the documents - which include Epstein's last will and testament, entries from his address book and his 2007 non-prosecution agreement with the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida - have raised more questions about the financier's influence and how widely known his behaviour was among his associates.

Here are six key takeaways.

1) Epstein's sex life is a running theme

The 238-page scrapbook of well wishes, crude messages and in some cases, sexually explicit photos paint a portrait of Epstein's highly sexualised life and lewd encounters with young women.

Submissions from some 50 friends and associates throughout the book feature nudity and multiple references to sexual encounters as well as female body parts.

On one page, a cartoon drawing appears to show Epstein giving balloons to young girls in 1983, juxtaposed with a drawing of three women in bathing suits giving him massages on a beach chair in 2003.

"What a great country!" a caption beneath the drawing reads.

One author wrote he "agonised long and hard about what to write" in a note that features images of lewd scenes involving lions and zebras. The images, the author wrote, "seemed more appropriate than anything I could put in words".

2) Trump is mentioned on a second page

Aside from the alleged birthday message bearing the president's purported signature, a second previously unknown page emerged showing Epstein and Joel Pashcow, a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, holding an oversized cheque for $22,500.

The cheque is made to look like a payment from Trump to Epstein for a woman.

"Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells 'fully depreciated' [name redacted] to Donald Trump for $22,500," the caption reads.

It is unclear whether Trump knew about the photo or the note, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday it is "absolutely not" the president's signature on the cheque.

The White House has also denied Trump drew and signed the birthday letter, which is featured inside a drawing of what appears to be a female body.

3) They raise questions over Epstein and Maxwell's relationship

There have long been questions about when and how Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein met. In fact, it was one of the first questions Todd Blanche, the Deputy US Attorney, asked Maxwell during her recent Department of Justice interview.

Maxwell, who was previously charged with perjury for lying to investigators and has been convicted of sex trafficking, told Blanche that she had met Epstein in 1991 and neither she nor her family had ever heard of him before that.

She said a girlfriend of hers said, "I've got a guy for you to meet" and that he was "looking for a wife". However, in the birthday book, it seems the two may have met earlier in life, when she was still a teenager.

In one letter, written by Elliot Wolk, he describes Epstein as a "star salesman" in 1970 when Wolk was running an account for Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell.

He writes: "Was that when you first discovered the Maxwell teen-age daughter." Then, in another notable letter from Epstein's friend, Johnny Kafka, he mentions a post-college Europe trip that opened their eyes "to another world." He wrote that Epstein spent the next summer in London and came home with "a beautiful British babe," whose name is redacted, but could refer to Maxwell.

There remain questions about the timeline of Epstein and Maxwell's relationship, and the latest documents add another layer of doubt to Maxwell's story.

4) ... and how Epstein made his fortune

The "birthday book" is a useful guide to the who's who in Epstein's life. The beginning is dedicated to photos and notes from his family and friends in Brooklyn.

Scattered throughout the pages are evidence of his beginnings in Coney Island, where he seemed to excel in mathematics, the piano and the accordion.

But there is a gap in Epstein's story that is noticeable in this book as well. His growing wealth is referenced time and again, noting how he "collected houses" or how "it happened so quickly".

Two of his known financial clients, CEO of retailer The Limited, Les Wexner, and the former Apollo Global Management CEO, Leon Black wrote notes in the book.

Wexner doodled a woman's chest. He has previously denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes prior to the federal investigation into him.

He has said he cut ties with Epstein after he learned he had "misappropriated vast sums of money from him and his family".

Black, meanwhile, references Epstein's "schemes and plans, a unique tax strategy". He has admitted paying Epstein for advice on trust and estate planning and tax issues.

None of the letters shed light on the source of Epstein's wealth, however, or how he became so close to powerful figures and influential businessmen.

5) They shed light on Epstein's contact book

The book sheds light on the late paedophile financier's friendships with high-profile figures in the political and corporate worlds as well as the entertainment industry.

The various notes are divided into several categories including "friends", "business", "science" and Brooklyn. These people are not accused or suspected of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's case or of being knowledgeable of his crimes.

Former US President Bill Clinton, UK ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson, private equity billionaire Leon Black and former Trump and Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz are among those who appear to have penned a congratulatory note.

Clinton's office has not responded to a BBC request for comment, while an official spokesperson for Lord Mandelson told the BBC that he "has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein".

Dershowitz has said that he did not remember writing the letter and at the time, did not have any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. He later went on to represent him in Florida - a case that led to federal prosecutors offering Epstein a then-secret non-prosecution agreement if he pled guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution.

Lawyers for Epstein's estate also handed over copies of his address book, which contained contact details from 1990 to 2019 for a host of celebrities, royals, fashion designers, business figures, socialites and politicians.

6) They highlight role of Epstein's assistants

Throughout Maxwell's trial, prosecutors argued Epstein's crimes would not have been possible without her help.

However, the birthday book offers a glimpse into how Epstein's girlfriends, assistants and other employees played a larger role in the sex-trafficking operation - and may have also been victims.

An unidentified woman wrote that "before Jeffrey" she was a 22-year-old divorced restaurant hostess but "after Jeffrey" she travelled the world, met celebrities including "Prince Andrew, President Clinton, Sultan of Brunei, Donald Trump", among others.

She also claimed to have seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace and "sat on the Queen of England's throne". The note, which was typed and not handwritten, was filed under the category of "Assistants". (BBC)

Update news