British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein his "best pal" in a 10-page note written in 2003 and released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday.

The committee released records turned over by the estate of Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, including a book that Epstein's convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, compiled for his 50th birthday.

"But wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!" Mandelson's purported note says. It also referred to Epstein as "intelligent," "sharp-witted" and "mysterious," and said he would host friends "in one of his glorious homes."

The book includes notes allegedly attributed to President Trump and former President Bill Clinton. On Monday, deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich denied that Trump signed the book. Trump also told NBC News the birthday letter was a "dead issue" on Tuesday.

A JP Morgan Chase internal report from 2019 said that Mandelson had a "particularly close relationship" with Epstein. The report, filed in a New York court in 2023, said that Mandelson planned on staying at Epstein's Manhattan apartment in 2009 — while the latter was serving an 18-month sentence for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. 

A spokesperson for Mandelson directed The Hill to prior comments the ambassador made regarding his relationship with Epstein. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Mandelson to his post, told The National on Tuesday that the UK leader has confidence in the ambassador.

Mandelson told The Financial Times in 2023 he "very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein."

"Why did many people meet him? He was a prolific networker. And I wish I'd never met him," he told Sky News in May.

Mandelson began his ambassadorship in February. He started in national British politics as the Labour Party's director of communications from 1985 to 1990 and has served in various roles within the British government and European Union.