Norwegian leaders showed 'poor judgment' in Epstein contacts: Premier

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) — Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Sunday that Crown Princess Mette-Marit and ex-Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland showed "poor judgment" following new revelations about their links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"The Crown Princess herself has stated that she has shown poor judgment, which I agree with. I also believe that Thorbjorn Jagland has done so," Store told broadcaster NRK.

In response to Store, Jagland wrote to the newspaper Aftenposten that he agreed with the prime minister and that he had "shown poor judgment" by having contact with Epstein. "I would never have had this contact if I knew what we know now."

After the US Justice Department released the latest Epstein documents on Friday, Mette-Marit admitted on Saturday that she should have checked Epstein's background better.

"I deeply regret that, and this is a responsibility I must take. I showed poor judgment and regret ever having any contact with Epstein. It is simply embarrassing," she said.

Documents revealed that Mette-Marit had years of contact with Epstein, met him several times and borrowed his house in 2013.

Mette-Marit also expressed her "deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the abuse committed by Jeffrey Epstein."​​​​​​​

Newly unsealed documents from a US federal court have disclosed the names of world leaders, royals, billionaires, and other elites linked to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The release of more than 3 million pages of records by the US Justice Department in a high-profile sex trafficking case has shed light on dozens of powerful figures allegedly connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, exposing links to political leaders, royals, diplomats and corporate elites across multiple continents.

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the documents, made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, include more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

While redactions were applied to protect victims, particularly minors, 43 victims' names were released without concealment, including more than 20 who were underage at the time of abuse.