The fallout after the release of millions of documents in late January — related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — continues as firings, arrests and resignations among high-powered business executives, politicians, lawyers, prolific academics and public figures ramp up.
As the files are dissected and studied, influential people across Europe, North America and the Middle East have seen their correspondence with the late financier exposed. (Being mentioned in the files does not imply criminal wrongdoing.)
Find below some of the people who’ve lost their jobs or been detained over their various associations with the convicted sex offender.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince who was stripped of his royal titles because of his links to Epstein, was arrested on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
U.K. police previously said it was “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent confidential trade reports to Epstein in 2010, when the former prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade.
These reports stemmed from correspondence between the two men, among the millions of pages of documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein that were released last month.
While Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his friendship with Epstein, concerns about Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to the late financier have dogged the royal family for more than a decade.
In a 2021 lawsuit filed in New York, Virginia Giuffre — one of Epstein’s most outspoken victims — claimed she was trafficked to Mountbatten-Windsor by Epstein on several occasions and forced to have sex with the then prince.
Mountbatten-Windsor denied the allegations but reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022.
Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025.
After Thursday’s arrest, King Charles III, Andrew’s older brother, said that the law must take its course.
The former prince was released after 11 hours in police custody.
High-ranking lawyer to leave Goldman Sachs
A top lawyer at global banking firm Goldman Sachs has announced she will leave her role after appearing in the Epstein files.
Kathy Ruemmler confirmed earlier in February that she will exit Goldman Sachs in June after email correspondence revealed a relationship between her and Epstein.
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Speaking to the Financial Times on Thursday, Ruemmler said, “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.”
She initially said she would not resign from the role she has held since 2020, and a Goldman Sachs spokesperson previously stressed that Ruemmler “regrets ever knowing him,” The Guardian reported.
Reummler, who worked as White House counsel under former president Barack Obama, had extensive communications with Epstein between 2014 and 2019 after he was convicted of child sex trafficking offences, the documents show.
Communications include advising Epstein on how to respond to a media request to comment on the alleged special legal treatment he received due to his status and connections.
It also shows she received gifts from Epstein, whom she frequently called “Uncle Jeffrey.”
Waterloo professor ‘pauses’ work over Epstein ties
People in Canada have also been impacted by past connections to Epstein.
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Lee Smolin, a revered theoretical physicist and founding member of the University of Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a world-renowned independent research centre known for its work in quantum theory, has “agreed to pause his working relationship” with the university, the institute confirmed to Global News in a statement.
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His name appears 182 times in the latest tranche of Epstein documents.
While being mentioned in the files does not indicate any criminal wrongdoing, the documents reveal a relationship between Smolin and Epstein, which continued after the former financier’s 2008 sex-trafficking conviction.
The files show correspondence between the two in which they discuss the 2008 economic crisis, and several messages addressed to Epstein remind him to “call Lee Smolin.”
Smolin previously told The Verge that he had not been in contact with Epstein since 2008 and had last seen him at a conference in 2007.
Email correspondence appears to contradict Smolin’s timeline.
In one email dated Nov. 2, 2010, with the subject line “Hi from Toronto,” Smolin appeared to send a message that simply reads “Dear Jeffrey.” Epstein, in the same chain, replied, “You’re always welcome in ny.”
In a 2009 email to Epstein, who had just been released from jail at the time, Smolin wrote to him saying, “I hear that you are out and living there at home. Hope all is well, would love to see you and catch up at some point.”
Epstein wrote back, offering to fly Smolin and his family to Florida.
Their final exchange appears to have been in 2013, according to the files released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dubai Sultan, port CEO, replaced
Dubai Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the head of DP World — one of the world’s largest port operators — was replaced on Friday after documents revealed some lewd exchanges between him and Epstein.
Without mentioning bin Sulayem by name, the Government of Dubai Media Office announced the appointment of Abdulla bin Damithan to the position of Chairman of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation in his place.
A prominent Emirati businessman, bin Sulayem regularly appears with Dubai’s ruler and has been photographed with President Donald Trump.
Bin Sulayem’s name appears 344 times in the Department of Justice’s Epstein library, mostly in email exchanges between him and Epstein.
“The hands do look like mine,” Epstein wrote back.
The emails also include the men discussing dinner and travel plans, as well as invitations from bin Sulayem to Epstein to various high-profile events.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister charged, others under investigation
Former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland has been charged with “gross corruption” over his ties to Epstein, police confirmed.
In early February, police searched the home of Jagland, who has also served as foreign minister, leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and head of the Council of Europe, the continent’s highest human rights watchdog.
He was questioned in Febraury, police said, on suspicion of aggravated corruption. Jagland has said he was looking forward to helping to clarify the situation.
Police also questioned Mona Juul, a diplomat who played a role in setting up the back channel between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, about her own links with Epstein.
Juul, who is under suspicion of aggravated corruption, has said she did not commit any crime.
World Economic Forum (WEF) head Børge Brende stepped down on Febraury 26 after facing pressure over his contacts with Esptein.
Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister, said in a statement that he had decided “after careful consideration” to step down as president and chief executive of the forum, known for its annual January summit in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.
“I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions,” Brende said.
The WEF announced earlier this month that it was opening an internal review into Brende to determine his relationship with Epstein after files indicated the two had dined together several times and exchanged messages.
In addition, Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit has apologized for her friendship with Epstein.
Peter Mandelson arrested after resignation from House of Lords, U.K. Labour Party
Former U.K. Labour peer Peter Mandelson was arrested on February 23, less than a month after resigning from the Labour Party and the House of Lords over his association with Epstein.
Police are investigating Mandelson over claims he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
His arrest came four days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was detained in a separate case on suspicion of a similar offence related to his friendship with Epstein.
Mandelson was released on bail, police confirmed early Tuesday.
U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer also fired Mandelson from his role as British ambassador to the U.S. last year after communications between Mandelson and Epstein were made public in a previous release of Epstein files.
Mandelson said in an interview with British journalist Harry Cole last year that he “deeply” regretted his friendship with Epstein, after a note he wrote to the convicted sex offender was released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee in a “birthday book” gifted to the former New York City businessman on his 50th birthday.
In the note, Mandelson called Epstein his “best pal.”
Starmer initially showed support for Mandelson after the release of the note, stating that his government still had complete confidence in Mandelson and that it was “focused obviously on our relationship with the US, with President Trump coming for an unprecedented second state visit,” which happened last September.
Starmer’s chief of staff also resigned this month over the furor surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the U.K. ambassador to the U.S. despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Morgan McSweeney said he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson, 72, to Britain’s most important diplomatic post in 2024.
Larry Summers resigns from teaching role at Harvard
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard University amid a campus review of his ties to Esptein, the university announced on February 25.
Summers, who has been on leave since November and whose name appeared hundreds of times in newly released Epstein files, will leave at the end of the school year, according to a statement from Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton.
In a statement, Summers said it was a difficult decision and expressed gratitude to the students and colleagues he worked with over 50 years.
“Free of formal responsibility, as President Emeritus and a retired professor, I look forward in time to engaging in research, analysis, and commentary on a range of global economic issues,” Summers said.
Summers served as Treasury Secretary under former President Bill Clinton and later served as Harvard’s president for five years, beginning in 2001.
The list keeps growing
Other well-known figures facing growing furor over their ties to Epstein include Brad Karp, who announced in The Wall Street Journal earlier in February that he had stepped down as chairman of the law firm Paul Weiss amid allegations of ties to Epstein. Toronto-born CBS News contributor and chief science officer of the protein brand David Protein, Dr. Peter Attia, who kept close relations with Epstein in the 2010s, according to the latest DOJ-released documents, stepped down from his role at CBS on Monday, the New York Times reported.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also facing calls to resign after emails showing he planned a visit to Epstein’s island with his family in 2012 surfaced.
Steve Tisch, the owner of the New York Giants, was found to have exchanged emails with Epstein in 2013 that included discussions about “working girl” status, prompting a review by the National Football League, ESPN reported.
Last week, pop star Chappell Roan announced she was severing ties with her talent agency, Wasserman, after emails revealed exchanges between its CEO, Casey Wasserman, Epstein and Maxwell. Several Los Angeles officials have also called for Wasserman to step down as chair of the LA28 Olympics committee, The Guardian reported.
Late last year, a number of charities cut ties with Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Mountbatten-Windsor, after British newspapers published an email that she reportedly wrote to Epstein, describing him as a “supreme friend.’’
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— With files from Reuters and the Associated Press
It is note worthy that business, unlike political parties of any stripe, do not tolerate immoral, illegal or selfish personal indulgences. Note worthy because journalists over look this often in an anti-business slant
The Donald. Master of “The Dodge”. First bone spurs signed off by a obviously bought and paid for doctor to dodge the military draft. Now the Epstein Dodge. Soon it will likely be the Impeachment Dodge. Follow the exploits of the Felon in Chief of the USA.
In the meantime I’m gonna stick a huge eggplant up my azz.
Hey Joe! The evidence is all over the media. Why do you think Trump is working overtime at distracting you!!?? Thanks for the personal insults too. Always nice to talk to a MAGAt.
On this valentines day, I want to send a message to my true love…
My dearest Donald, you sexy megalomanic dictator in chief are always in my thoughts and especially on this day of love.
You never reply to my letters and so many nights I have sat here inserting an entire bag of baby carrots while waiting for you to call.
I hope this valentines day you make a surprise visit to Mar-a-kengo.
Love
Ken
Bilodeau you Dilodeau you have no evidence he did anything so why don’t you go f * c k yourself usual.
So, Bob, because Trump called the cops on Epstein, that makes him innocent? That makes him a bigger coward. He did the same thing at Mara A Lago, but, to get the heat off him first, he turned Epstein in? Listening to to much media.
The biggest news from the files is that Trump was the one that called the police on Epstein while democrats tried to protect Epstein.
Why do you refuse to talk about Mark Carney being mentioned 69+ times in the Epstein files?
Can we fire the biggest culprit, Donald J Trump?
In the US we know who clielt #1 is!
And yes I acknowledge I’ve been an as* hole on this site, harassing everyone I disagree with. I blame a lot of that on getting sexually abused day in and day out. I also drink a lot and sniff glue. I like to stick objects in all my orifices. If you have a problem with that I suggest YOU F* C M THE HE LL OFF RIGHT NOW!
Everyone except Trump acknowledging the truth. I still say they should be charged with aiding and abetting a felony. They knew and did nothing in fear it would be found out that they did in fact know. Sickening how these freaks just walk away more or less.