The Epstein affair

Investigation
Epstein investigation creates chaos in Europe – in the US it is all the calmer

The latest published documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation have sent shockwaves through parts of Europe's power elite.

The revelations about the sex offender's connections to Norway, Sweden, Slovakia and the UK, among others, have made headlines, ended careers and led to investigations. But in the US, it is all the calmer, reports the AP.

"In the US, the long-awaited publication has not led to the same public uproar around Epstein's circle of acquaintances – at least not yet," writes the news agency.

Political scientist Rob Ford at the University of Manchester believes, among other things, that the difference may be due to a different demand for accountability in the European media.

Former French minister investigated for Epstein contact

Former French culture minister Jack Lang is the latest top European politician to be drawn into the tangle surrounding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, writes AFP. French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into, among other things, money laundering and gross tax fraud.

The now 86-year-old Lang served as a minister in several Social Democratic governments during the 1980s and 90s and in the early 2000s.

His daughter Caroline Lang is also being investigated.

Clinton wants to be questioned openly about Epstein: "Pure politics"

Former US President Bill Clinton wants his questioning about his involvement in the affair surrounding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to be held publicly, reports ABC News.

"Let's stop the games and instead do this the right way: an open questioning so that the American people can see for themselves what this is about," he writes.

Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton are both appearing in the Epstein investigation and earlier this week they agreed to the Republicans' demands that they be questioned. James Comer, chairman of the committee reviewing the investigation, has said that the hearings will be held behind closed doors but that they will be filmed. This approach angers Clinton.

“Who benefits from it? Not Epstein’s victims who deserve justice. Not the public who deserve the truth. It only serves party interests. This is not seeking facts, this is pure politics,” he writes.
Epstein affair • British connections
Brown critical of Starmer: “Need to clean up Labour”

Gordon Brown, former British prime minister and Labour leader, agrees with the criticism of current prime minister Keir Starmer, writes The Telegraph. According to Brown, Starmer must “clean up” after the revelations about former US ambassador Peter Mandelson’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer must put an end to corruption and ethically questionable behavior in the party.

– If not, we will have to pay a high price, he says.

Keir Starmer has been heavily criticised for appointing Mandelson as ambassador, and voices within the party have called for his resignation. 

Norwegian connections
Analysis: Mette-Marit wanted to enter the most forbidden – could split the royal family

The Epstein documents risk splitting the Norwegian royal family into two factions, CNN's Billy Stockwell notes in an analysis. Together with the criminal trial of the bonus prince Marius Borg-Høiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's contacts with Epstein constitute the "most serious threat to the royal family in decades – a challenge the court cannot afford to ignore".

The disgust from the Norwegian public is greater now than in connection with previous scandals, The Guardian's Miranda Bryant believes in an analysis:

"There will be little to celebrate when King Harald, Europe's oldest reigning monarch, turns 89 later this month."

Sydsvenskan's Maria G Francke writes that Mette-Marit's "swooping" makes her feel sick and reminds us that the current Crown Princess married into the absolute elite of Norwegian society, but that "she wanted to go further in, where it was darkest. Into the most forbidden. It is a bizarrely bad judgment she has shown."