Epstein played up Nobel ties as Jagland faced corruption charges in Norway

Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly turned Thorbjørn Jagland’s status as a Nobel Peace Prize committee leader into a selling point in messages and emails to high-profile figures, according to documents released by the U.S. Justice Department and reviewed by The Associated Press. The documents show Epstein portraying relationships that could elevate social access for elites across business, politics and media, with Jagland’s name appearing frequently in the material tied to the former U.S. financier and convicted sex offender.

The release of the files coincided with a new legal move in Norway. Norwegian police unit Økokrim said Jagland, 75, has been charged there with “aggravated corruption” in connection with an investigation that was prompted by information in the Epstein files, according to the AP report. Økokrim said it would investigate whether Epstein-linked gifts, travel and loans were received in relation to Jagland’s position.

Økokrim also carried out searches as part of the investigation, including at Jagland’s Oslo residence on Thursday, as well as two other properties in Risør, a coastal town south of the capital, and in Rauland to the west. The searches were conducted as the case moved from documentation released in the United States toward scrutiny by Norwegian investigators.

Jagland’s attorneys at Elden law firm in Norway said he denies the charges. The attorneys said he was questioned by the Økokrim unit on Thursday.

In the Epstein files, the Nobel connection did not appear as a one-time reference. The AP report said Epstein repeatedly played up hosting Jagland at his properties in New York and Paris during the 2010s, even though there was “no evidence in the documents seen so far” of any outright lobbying for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The AP report also described a text-message exchange in September 2018 involving Steve Bannon, an ally of President Donald Trump. In one message, Epstein wrote that “donalds head would explode if he knew you were now buds with the guy who on monday will decide the nobel peace prize,” using phrasing the report said had “untidy grammar.” In the same exchange, Epstein added, “I told him next year it should be you when we settle china,” without further elaboration.

Other messages described arrangements around Jagland’s presence in Epstein’s orbit. In a 2013 email to British entrepreneur and business magnate Richard Branson, Epstein wrote that Jagland would be staying with him in September that year and added, “if you are there, you might find him interesting,” the AP said. The report also described an email received in 2015 by Kathy Ruemmler, after she left a job as White House counsel to President Barack Obama, in which Epstein wrote: “head of nobel peace prize coming to visit, want to join?”

In 2012, the AP report said Epstein wrote to then-Treasury Secretary and Harvard University president Larry Summers that “head of the nobel peace prize [is] staying with me, if you have any interest.” In that exchange, Epstein referred to Jagland, described by the AP report as also a former Norwegian prime minister and former head of the Council of Europe, as “not bright,” while saying he offered a “unique perspective.”

The files also included a message from Epstein to Bill Gates in 2014, according to the AP report, saying Jagland had been reelected as head of the Council of Europe. The AP report said Gates replied, “That is good,” and added, “I guess his peace prize committee job is also up in the air?”

Jagland’s Nobel committee role, as described in the report, included a period during which the Nobel Peace Prize committee awarded the peace prize to Barack Obama in 2009 and to the European Union in 2012. The AP report said Jagland was brought into Epstein’s orbit by Terje Rød Larsen, a Norwegian diplomat who helped broker the Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and Palestinians.

The AP report further said Larsen and his wife are also facing corruption charges in Norway due to their association with Epstein. It also said the Associated Press is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from CBS, NBC, MS NOW and CNBC, with each outlet responsible for its own independent news coverage.