Epstein files fallout : Resignations , firings and investigations

nbcnews.com · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The Justice Department’s release of millions of files relating to its investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has shaken the upper echelons of power across the globe, resulting in high-profile firings and resignations in the U.S. and abroad and a number of active criminal investigations overseas.Here’s a look at those who’ve been affected to date by the information released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law that shone a light on the surprisingly wide network of rich and powerful people who interacted with the politically connected convicted sex offender, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking charges.Andrew Mountbatten-WindsorThe former Prince Andrew was officially stripped of his royal titles in late 2025 as a result of his ties with Epstein, given new scrutiny after the House Oversight Committee released a trove of files last year. His reputational collapse plunged to lower depths on Thursday, when authorities said he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct while in office.The arrest came after the Thames Valley Police said this month that the department was looking into a claim that the then-prince had shared confidential documents with Epstein while he was serving as U.K. trade envoy in 2010.The claim emerged from an email chain in the latest Epstein files release. Mountbatten-Windsor appears to have forwarded Epstein “visit reports for Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shenzhen” in relation to a trip he’d made to Southeast Asia.Trade envoys are typically barred from sharing sensitive or commercial documents under confidentiality rules.Mountbatten-Windsor has denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but has not commented on the latest batch of files or his arrest. He was released approximately 11 hours after being attested, meaning he has been neither charged nor cleared of wrongdoing, the Thames Valley Police said in a statement.In a statement Thursday, King Charles III vowed to cooperate with any investigation and said that “the law must take its course.”Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the U.S.Former U.K. Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson.Wiktor Szymanowicz / Getty ImagesPeter Mandelson was fired as British ambassador to the U.S. last year after documents released by the House Oversight Committee showed he had a much closer relationship with Epstein than was previously known.Documents released by the Justice Department in January, however, touched off an investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police “for misconduct in public office offences.” As was the case with the former prince, the documents showed exchanges he had with Epstein where he appeared to share sensitive government information.In one 2010 exchange, while Mandelson was business secretary, he notified Epstein in advance that Prime Minister Gordon Brown was going to resign following his loss in the general election, writing, “finally got him to go today.”Mandelson stepped down from the governing Labour Party on Feb. 1 and as a member of the House of Lords on Feb. 3. On Feb. 6, his former lobbying company announced it had severed all ties with him.Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. In an interview that The Times of London published Feb. 2, Mandelson said the new release showed a “handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending” and compared Epstein to “muck that you can’t get off your shoe.”Thorbjørn Jagland, former prime minister of NorwayThorbjørn Jagland, who was prime minister of Norway in the 1990s and went on to head the Nobel Committee and the Council of Europe, was charged last week with “aggravated corruption” following searches of his home in Norway in connection with Epstein file disclosures.Emails in the files show Jagland taking repeated trips to Epstein’s properties, including stays at his island. Epstein paid for Jagland and his family’s travel there in 2014, according to one of the emails.After the emails became public, Jagland was stripped of his diplomatic immunity and three of his properties were searched by Norwegian authorities.“As a consequence of the search, Jagland has now been charged with gross corruption,” the police said in a statement.Jagland has denied any wrongdoing. He told the Norwegian paper Aftenposten he is “very glad that the matter is being clarified” and plans to fully cooperate with the authorities.Thomas Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt Hotels03:24Billionaire Tom Pritzker announced this week he was stepping down from his role as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp. because of revelations in the files about his long associations with Epstein and Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges.Emails released by the Justice Department show Pritzker and Epstein socializing for years after his 2008 conviction.“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret. I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” Pritzker said in a statement announcing his resignation as chair, a post he’d held since 2004.“I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”He has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement.Kathy Ruemmler, former chief legal officer at Goldman SachsKathy Ruemmler, a former White House counsel in the Obama administration, announced last week she was resigning from her job as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs after newly released emails showed she and Epstein had had a friendly relationship.Ruemmler told the Financial Times, “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defense attorney, was becoming a distraction.”Ruemmler’s name appears in the files in scores of email exchanges with Epstein and his assistant, some of which show her offering public relations and legal advice and others showing he bought her lavish gifts, including a Fendi bag and an Apple Watch.“I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!” Ruemmler told Epstein’s assistant in a 2015 email.Ruemmler said in a statement this month that “I got to know him as a lawyer and that was the foundation of my relationship with him. One of his clients became my client too, we regularly worked together, and he asked me for advice as many people do.”“I had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part, and I did not know him as the monster he has been revealed to be,” the statement said. She has not been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing.Brad Karp, former chairman of Paul, WeissBrad Karp, who was head of the prestigious law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, announced on Feb. 4 that he was stepping down as chairman in the wake of newly disclosed emails between him and Epstein.“Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm,” Karp said in a statement released by the firm.A separate statement from the firm indicated he wasn’t going far. “Mr. Karp will continue to focus his full-time attention to client service at the firm,” the statement said.Documents posted by the Justice Department’s website show dozens of email exchanges between Karp and Epstein or Karp and Epstein’s assistant spanning multiple years, including 2015 through 2019.In one 2015 email, he thanked Epstein for “an evening I’ll never forget.”“It was truly ‘once in a lifetime’ in every way,” Karp wrote, calling Epstein “an extraordinary host.” More details about the event were not known.Karp has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement. His firm told The New York Times this month, “Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets.”George J. Mitchell, former U.S. senatorGeorge J. Mitchell, the 92-year-old former Democratic senator from Maine and envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration, resigned from his position as honorary chair of the Mitchell Institute this month.The institute, which provides scholarships for college students in Maine, announced its founder’s resignation after his name appeared over 300 times in the files. Many of the mentions showed Epstein trying to meet with him, and it’s unclear if the meetings happened.The file also includes an interview the FBI conducted with a woman in 2020 who said Epstein had trafficked her to Mitchell in the early 2000s.A spokesman for Mitchell could not be reached, but one told The Irish Times this month that he never had “any contact of any kind” with “any underage women,” and “at no time did Senator Mitchell observe, suspect, or have any knowledge of Epstein engaging in illegal or inappropriate conduct with underage women.”“He learned of Epstein’s criminal activity only through media reports related to Epstein’s Florida prosecution,” the statement said, and “to the best of Senator Mitchell’s recollection, during the 12-year period between Epstein’s conviction and his death, members of Epstein’s staff extended a small number of invitations to the Senator, all of which he declined or deflected.”The senator “profoundly regrets ever having known Jeffrey Epstein and condemns, without reservation, the horrific harm Epstein inflicted on so many women,” the statement said.The Mitchell Institute statement said it had accepted Mitchell’s resignation, adding: “We also agree that this is an appropriate time to initiate a thoughtful, responsible process to consider a potential name change.”Authorities have not accused him of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.Sultan Ahmed bin SulayemJeffrey Epstein and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem are seen in this undated handout image from the Epstein estate released by Democrats on the House Overs