Norwegian diplomat resigns after being linked to paedophile Epstein

A senior Norwegian diplomat has resigned after an investigation was launched into her ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Mona Juul, the Scandinavian nation's ambassador to Jordan and Iraq, is among several high-profile Norwegian figures swept up in the latest Epstein file release.

The senior diplomat, who played a key role in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, was temporarily suspended on Monday pending an investigation into her alleged links to Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Epstein left around £7.4million in his will to Juul's two children with her husband, fellow diplomat and Oslo talks broker Terje Rod-Larsen, according to Norwegian media.

'This is a correct and necessary decision. Juul's contact with the convicted abuser Epstein has shown a serious lapse in judgement,' foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement. 

Eide said that the ministry would continue to hold talks with Juul throughout the review to determine the extent of their dealings.

'It is important to understand the scope of the contact she, as an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has had with Epstein,' he said.

He added that the Jordan embassy would be led by the deputy ambassador until a new envoy is appointed.

Thomas Skjelbred, Juul's lawyer, said in a statement that she resigned because 'the situation she now finds herself in makes it impossible for her to discharge her duties in a responsible manner.'

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Skjelbred added that the situation had 'been an enormous personal strain on her and her immediate family,' and that she would continue cooperating with the foreign ministry.

Norway's political and royal circles have been thrust into the eye of the Epstein storm, including the CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, who was found to have had three business dinners with Epstein and also communicated with the paedophile via email and text. 

Brende is currently under being investigated by the WEF, which he requested himself.  

Norway's former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, who is being investigated for 'aggravated corruption.'

Jagland's lawyer Anders Brosveet welcomed the opening of the investigation.

'Based on what we have found so far, we are confident of the outcome,' he told Reuters news agency.

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has also come under scrutiny for her relationship with Epstein, which on Friday she said she 'deeply regretted.' 

Epstein's death abruptly halted one of the most closely watched federal criminal cases in recent memory.

Prosecutors had accused him of operating a years-long sex trafficking operation involving underage girls, with alleged victims coming forward to describe abuse that spanned multiple states and countries.

His arrest in July 2019 followed years of scrutiny over a controversial plea agreement he reached in Florida in 2008, which allowed him to avoid federal prosecution at the time.

The new charges brought in New York exposed Epstein to the possibility of decades in prison if convicted.

His death ended the criminal case against him but did not end federal investigations into possible co-conspirators. 

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Epstein's death came amid a cascade of failures inside one of the federal government's most secure detention facilities.

Prison records show that guards assigned to monitor Epstein did not conduct required checks during the overnight hours before his body was discovered.

Scheduled rounds at 3am and 5am were missed, according to official findings. 

Furthermore, cameras positioned outside Epstein's cell were not functioning properly that night.  

Investigators later confirmed that at least two surveillance cameras had malfunctioned, leaving critical gaps in visual monitoring of the area.

Because of those failures, officials were unable to establish a definitive timeline of Epstein's final moments.

To this day, no precise official time of death has been determined.

The newly released DOJ files contain additional details that investigators reviewed in the aftermath of Epstein's death, including surveillance observations from inside the facility.

According to the records, investigators from the FBI and the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General identified footage showing what appeared to be an unidentified figure moving toward the floor where Epstein was housed.

The footage reportedly captured an orange-coloured shape ascending a staircase in the vicinity of Epstein's housing unit during the overnight hours.

Investigators noted the movement but did not publicly conclude whether the figure had any direct connection to Epstein or his death.

The surveillance system's limitations and malfunctions prevented investigators from reconstructing a complete visual record of activity in the unit.