How Epstein leveraged the Nobel Peace Prize to attach with the world’s strongest | EUROtoday

Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly emphasised his connections to the previous head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee when speaking with elites similar to Richard Branson, Larry Summers, Bill Gates and Steve Bannon, in keeping with the newly launched Epstein information.

Thorbjørn Jagland, who led the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015, seems a whole lot of occasions within the tens of millions of paperwork about Epstein, launched final month by the U.S. Justice Department.

Since the discharge, the 75-year-old Jagland has been charged in Norway with “aggravated corruption,” the financial crime unit of Norwegian police Økokrim mentioned. The investigation is inspecting whether or not presents, journey or loans have been linked to Jagland’s place. Økokrim searched his Oslo residence on Thursday, together with properties in Risør and Rauland.

His attorneys at Elden regulation agency in Norway mentioned Jagland denies the fees, and was questioned by the police unit on Thursday.

While there isn’t a proof within the paperwork seen to date of any outright lobbying for the Nobel Peace Prize, Epstein repeatedly performed up internet hosting Jagland at his properties in New York and Paris within the 2010s.

From an ‘interesting’ visitor to topic of banter with Bannon

In September 2018, throughout Trump’s first time period and in an obvious allusion to his curiosity within the peace prize, Epstein had a diverse text-message trade with Bannon, at one level writing — in one in every of many messages with untidy grammar: “donalds head would explode if he knew you were now buds with the guy who on monday will decide the nobel peace prize.”

“I told him next year it should be you when we settle china,” he added, with out elaborating.

In one e mail from 2013, mixing in funding ideas and reward for PR ideas, Epstein informed British entrepreneur and magnate Richard Branson that Jagland could be staying with Epstein in September that yr, including: “if you are there, you might find him interesting.”

A yr after she left a job as White House counsel to President Barack Obama, in 2015, Kathy Ruemmler bought an e mail from Epstein saying: “head of nobel peace prize coming to visit, want to join?”

In 2012, Epstein wrote former Treasury Secretary and Harvard University president Larry Summers about Jagland, saying “head of the nobel peace prize staying with me, if you have any interest.”

In that trade, Epstein referred to Jagland — additionally a former Norwegian prime minister and former head of the Council of Europe, a human rights physique — as “not bright” however somebody who provided a “unique perspective.”

The financier wrote Bill Gates in 2014, saying that Jagland had been reelected as head of the Council of Europe.

“That is good,” the Microsoft co-founder and the world’s former richest man, wrote. “I guess his peace prize committee job is also up in the air?”

During Jagland’s tenure as chair of the committee, it gave the peace prize to Obama in 2009 and the European Union in 2012.

Jagland was introduced into Epstein’s orbit by Terje Rød Larsen, a Norwegian diplomat who helped dealer the Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and Palestinians. Larsen and spouse are additionally going through corruption fees in Norway on account of their affiliation with Epstein.