Epstein files set off Norwegian political storm: What we know 

The latest Epstein files to be released in the United States have triggered a political storm in Norway after two high-placed figures were revealed to have close ties to the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The largest tranche yet of legal documents relating to the prosecution of Epstein for sex offences, including the trafficking of underage girls, includes some 3 million pages of documents, as well as 2,000 videos and 180,000 photographs, and was released a week ago.

The documents were published 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 his campaign promises.

As media, investigators and other interested parties continue to pore through this vast array of material, new revelations have been coming out throughout the week.

They have implicated many famous people, from princes to industry leaders, believed to have been in Epstein’s vast network, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, billionaire Elon Musk, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the United Kingdom Labour politician Peter Mandelson.

In Norway, the revelation of emails between Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Epstein caused initial shockwaves.

Then, on Thursday this week, Norwegian police opened a criminal investigation into former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland on suspicion of “gross corruption” linked to gifts, loans and benefits he may have received from Epstein.

The latest Epstein files also included emails showing that Borge Brende, who was 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 Jagland, and what is he being investigated for?

Jagland, 75, is a senior politician within Norway’s Labour Party. He is being investigated for economic corruption.

He was Norway’s prime minister from 1996 to 1997 and, afterwards, served as foreign affairs minister from 2000 to 2001. He was also head of parliament (stortingspresident) from 2005 to 2009.

However, Jagland’s association with Epstein is linked to his time as secretary-general of the Council of Europe, formed to protect human rights on the continent, and his simultaneous leadership of the Nobel Committee.

He joined the Norwegian Nobel Committee as chairman in 2009. He was later demoted to ordinary member in 2015 after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Chinese rights activist Liu Xiaobo, prompting outrage from China. His demotion was seen as a peace offering to Beijing.

During this time, Jagland was also serving as head of the Council of Europe – he completed two terms from 2009 to 2019. His critics at the time alleged he did not do enough to fight corruption and that he was overly friendly towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Thursday this week, Norwegian police said it is investigating whether Jagland received gifts, loans and travel benefits while serving in those positions after emails between him and Epstein emerged in the released documents last Friday.

Authorities did not provide details as to whether Epstein or people in his network offered those benefits, but Pal K Lonseth, head of a special police economic crimes unit, Okokrim, 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 the new files revealed plans Jagland made for a family visit to Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2014, but say the trip was later cancelled.

Speaking to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK, Jagland’s lawyer Anders Brosveet denied the claims and said there was “no question” as to whether the politician received any benefits.

“Based on the information we have found so far, we believe it is quite simple to clarify that this is not a transfer of benefits,” he said.

Following the release of the Epstein files, Jagland stated via his lawyers that his contact with Epstein had been “unwise” and that he “never” related to Epstein around his private life or his “dealings with young girls”.

While Jagland enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution as a former Council of Europe head, the Norwegian police have asked the institution to revoke his protections.

Borge Brende, who was Norway’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2017, had several business dinners with Epstein and communicated with him via email and text message, according to evidence in these files.

Brende, 60, is the head of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which organises 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 a risk committee would probe communications between Brende and Epstein.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Brende said he had only ever had limited contact with Epstein and that he had been unaware of his past or crimes.

He said he met Epstein in 2018 at a dinner and that the financier had been presented to him as an “American investor”.

“This gathering included several other leaders,” he said. “The following year, I attended two similar dinners with Epstein, alongside other diplomats and business leaders. These dinners, and a few mails and SMS messages, were the extent of my interactions with him,” he said.

Brende also said he regretted not doing more to look into Epstein’s history.

“I remain committed to learning from this experience and welcome the upcoming independent review, which I indeed requested,” he added.

What has the response been in Norway?

The revelations have prompted demands for further probes in parliament, which Jagland’s Labour Party dominates.

Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Eide, also from Labour, said in a statement on Thursday that he had acted on a request from the police and reached out to the Council of Europe to remove Jagland’s immunity.

However, opposition parties, including the Conservative Party, which is the main opposition, are demanding that the government set up an independent investigation committee to probe the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“What everyone is questioning now 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,” Sylvi Listhaug, head of the opposition Progress Party, said in parliament on Thursday, according to the NRK broadcaster.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, of the Labour Party, who has backed the police investigation, has, however, responded to the demand, saying an investigative committee is not “the right instrument to shed light on the matter”, NRK reported.

Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, is also in the spotlight over her alleged close relationship with Epstein as documented by emails included in the files released by the US Justice Department.

Her friendship with Epstein was already known. The latest tranche of documents, however, provides a much clearer picture of the nature of her relationship with him, with hundreds of messages sent over several years.

They included a 2012 email from Mette-Marit to Epstein in which she asked him: “Is it inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my I5 yr old sons wallpaper?”

Epstein then replied, “Let them decide,” and advised that the mother should “stay out of it.”

In a separate email, Epstein told Mette-Marit he was in Paris “on my wife hunt” but that “i prefer Scandinavians.”

In response, Mette-Marit said Paris was “good for adultery” but that “Scandis” were “better wife material”.

In a statement following the documents’ release, the crown princess said she felt “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the girls abused by Epstein.

She said she took responsibility for “not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly” and also expressed regret for “having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing.”

Separately, Mette-Marit’s eldest son, Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, whom she had referred to in her emails to Epstein, appeared in court this week on multiple charges, including rape and domestic violence.

He denied charges of rape and filming people without their consent in court on Wednesday, but admitted to transporting drugs and speeding while driving.

Hoiby was first arrested in August 2024 on suspicion of assault. His trial will continue until March.

Amongst the evidence against him, police say, are incriminating videos stored on his phone, including one that allegedly shows him assaulting a woman who was incapacitated at his parents’ Skaugum estate, west of Oslo, in December 2018. He is alleged to have raped four women.

Hoiby holds no royal title. He was born when Mette-Marit, a non-royal, was in a relationship before her 2001 marriage to the heir, Prince Haakon. He has previously spoken about mental health issues and a struggle with substance abuse.