The gathering fallout from the Justice Department’s latest release of files on the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein just claimed the job of another influential public figure.
Borge Brende, who in his role as chief executive and president of the World Economic Forum was responsible for welcoming President Donald Trump to Davos earlier this year, announced he would be resigning from the powerful financial organization on Thursday.
His statement made no mention of his reputed ties to Epstein. He said only that he was “grateful” to have served in his post, and that “I believe now is the right moment for the forum to continue its important work without distractions.”
The World Economic Forum said it had concluded an “independent review,” and “the findings state that there were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.”
A Norwegian former foreign minister, Brende steps down after emails contained in the DoJ’s release of more than three million documents on the Epstein case show he allegedly maintained contact with the predator for years after his 2008 Florida conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Trump approved publication of those files late last year after a concerted bipartisan campaign amid renewed scrutiny of his own, once-close friendship with the disgraced financier, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He remains in his role as president of the United States.
Howard Lutnick, a longstanding friend of Trump’s, also faces mounting scrutiny after newly released documents appear to show he maintained contact with Epstein as late as 2018. He remains in his role as Commerce Secretary.
Pam Bondi has also come under intense criticism for her handling of the release, which contains redactions critics say are designed more to protect Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators than survivors of his crimes. She remains in her role as attorney general.
Brende, meanwhile, is only the latest in a gathering slew of prominent Norwegian figures, including a former prime minister and Crown Princess, to be named in files released by the Justice Department. Among them is Mona Juul, who stepped down as the country’s former ambassador to Jordan and Iraq earlier this month.
In the U.K., revelations from the tranche have led to arrests of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson.
Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was stripped of his royal titles late last year amid long-running controversy over his relationship with Epstein. Prime Minister Keir Starmer sacked Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. in September over his ties to the predator.
France’s former Culture Minister Jack Lang, Slovakian ex-National Security Adviser Miroslav Lajčák, and disgraced UAE business tycoon Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem have all similarly resigned or been forced out of their roles in recent weeks over fresh allegations of their links to Epstein.
