the latest The Epstein Files Norway has sparked a political storm after two high-ranking figures to be released in the United States were revealed to have close ties to late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The largest-ever batch of legal documents related to Epstein’s prosecution for sex crimes, including the trafficking of underage girls, includes nearly 3 million pages of documents, as well as 2,000 videos and 180,000 photographs, and was released a week ago.
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The documents were released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in November after pressure from his supporters to make the files public, fulfilling promises made by his campaigners.
As the media, investigators and other interested parties sift through this vast array of material, new revelations are coming out every week.
He has implicated many famous people, from princes to industry leaders, believed to be part of Epstein’s vast network, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, billionaire Elon Musk, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and United Kingdom Labor politicians. Peter Mandelson.
In Norway, the revelation of emails between Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Epstein caused initial shock waves.
Then this week on Thursday, Norway’s police A Criminal investigation Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland on suspicion of “gross corruption” related to gifts, loans and benefits received from Epstein.
The latest Epstein files also included emails showing that Borge Brende, Norway’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2017, had several business dinners with Epstein.
Here’s what we know about the scandal in Norway:
Who is Thorbjorn Jugland and what is he being investigated for?
Jagland, 75, is a senior politician in Norway’s Labor Party. He is being investigated for financial corruption.
He was the Prime Minister of Norway from 1996 to 1997 and then served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2001. He was the Storting President from 2005 to 2009.
However, Jagland’s association with Epstein is related to his role as Secretary General of the Council of Europe, established to protect human rights on the continent, and his concurrent leadership of the Nobel Committee.
He joined the Norwegian Nobel Committee as chairman in 2009. He was later demoted as an ordinary member after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Chinese rights activist Liu Xiaobo in 2015, sparking outrage from China. His demotion was seen as a peace offering to Beijing.
During this time, Jagland also served as head of the Council of Europe – serving two terms from 2009 to 2019. His critics at the time charged that he did not do enough to fight corruption and that he was too friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday this week, Norwegian police said they were investigating whether Jagland and Epstein received gifts, loans and travel benefits while working in those positions after emails between Jagland and Epstein were revealed in documents released last Friday.
Authorities did not provide details on whether Epstein or people in his network paid those benefits, but Pal K Lonseth, head of Okocrim’s special police financial crimes unit, told reporters that what was revealed in the files “provides a basis for investigating whether these are criminal offences”.
Several Norwegian publications have reported that new files reveal plans Jagland made for a family visit to Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2014, but later canceled the trip.
Speaking to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK, Jagland’s lawyer Anders Brosveit rejected the claims and said there was “no question” whether the politician received any benefits.
“Based on the information we have received so far, we believe it is easy to explain that this is not a transfer of benefits,” he said.
After the Epstein files were released, Jagland said through his attorneys that his contact with Epstein was “indiscreet” and that he “never” communicated with Epstein about his private life or his “dealings with teenage girls”.
Jagland is immune from criminal prosecution as a former head of the Council of Europe, while Norwegian police have asked the organization to withdraw its protection.
Who is Borge Brende and what do the Epstein files reveal about him?
Borge Brende, Norway’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2017, had several business dinners with Epstein and communicated with him via email and text messages, according to evidence in the files.
Brende, 60, heads the World Economic Forum (WEF), which hosts the annual business summit of the same name in Davos. He is part of Norway’s opposition Conservative Party.
The WEF said in a statement after last week’s revelations that the risk committee would investigate communications between Brende and Epstein.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Brende said he had only limited contact with Epstein and did not know about his past or crimes.
He said he met Epstein at a dinner in 2018 and that the financier introduced him as an “American investor”.
“The gathering included many other leaders,” he said. “The following year, I attended two similar dinners with Epstein along with other diplomats and business leaders. These dinners and some mails and SMS messages were the extent of my interaction with him,” he said.
Brende also said he regrets not doing more to draw attention to Epstein’s history.
“I am committed to learning from this experience and welcome the forthcoming independent review, which I really requested,” he added.
What was the response in Norway?
The revelations have prompted calls for further inquiries in Parliament, which is dominated by Jugland’s Labor Party.
Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Ide, also a Laborer, said in a statement on Thursday that he had acted on the police’s request and had approached the Council of Europe to lift Jugland’s immunity.
However, opposition parties, including the main opposition Conservative Party, have demanded that the government should set up an independent inquiry committee to probe the Ministry of External Affairs.
“What everyone is now questioning is whether this is the tip of the iceberg. Whether this is a culture that exists at the top of Norwegian politics and the foreign service,” Sylvie Listog, head of the opposition Progress Party, said in parliament on Thursday, according to broadcaster NRK.
Labor Party Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoer, who has supported the police investigation, responded to the demand, saying the inquiry committee was “not the right tool to shed light on the matter”, NRK reported.
How is Crown Princess Mette-Merritt related to Epstein?
Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mette-Merritt, 52, is also in the news for her alleged close relationship with Epstein, as documented by emails included in files released by the US Department of Justice.
Her friendship with Epstein was already known. The latest batch of documents, however, provide a clearer picture of the nature of her relationship with him, including hundreds of messages sent over the years.
It includes a 2012 email from Met-Merit to Epstein in which she asked him: “Is it inappropriate for a mother to suggest two nude women carrying a surfboard for my 15-year-old son’s wallpaper?”
Epstein then replied, “Let them decide,” and advised the mother to “stay out of it.”
In a separate email, Epstein told Met-Merit that he was in Paris “to look for my wife” but that “I prefer the Scandinavians.”
In response, Met-Merit said that Paris was “good for adultery” but that the “Scandis” were “good wife material”.
In a statement following the release of the documents, the crown princess said she felt “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the girls abused by Epstein.
She said she took responsibility for “not investigating Epstein’s background more thoroughly” and “regretted having no contact with Epstein at all. It’s just embarrassing.”
Separately, Mette-Merritt’s eldest son, Marius Borg Hoby, 29, whom she mentioned in an email to Epstein, Appeared in court This week on multiple charges including rape and domestic violence.
He denied charges of rape and filming without public consent in court on Wednesday, but admitted drug trafficking and speeding while driving.
Hobby was first arrested in August 2024 on suspicion of assault. His hearing will continue till March.
Among the evidence against him, police say, are incriminating videos stored on his phone, including one in December 2018 showing him assaulting a disabled woman at his parents’ Skougam estate, west of Oslo. He is accused of raping four women.
Hoiby has no royal title. He was born in a matrimonial, non-royal, relationship before marrying Crown Prince Haakon in 2001. He has previously spoken about his struggles with mental health issues and substance abuse.