The far-reaching fallout of the Jeffrey Epstein files continued this week at some of the world’s most powerful institutions, even as President Donald Trump’s gilded White House has avoided accountability so far.
Thursday brought the resignation of Borge Brende, the now-former chief of the World Economic Forum, which hosts an annual gathering of government officials and wealthy elites in Davos, Switzerland. Brende’s resignation followed an internal review of his ties to Epstein. A WEF press release said the review found that “there were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.”
Brende is one of many high-profile figures whose public claims about their ties to Epstein have not aligned with recently surfaced evidence.
According to The New York Times:
Mr. Brende had previously told Norway’s public broadcaster that he was “completely unaware of his criminal actions and past,” and that he never would have met Mr. Epstein “had I known.” In March 2019, Mr. Epstein appears to have texted Mr. Brende a letter written by his lawyers that was published in The New York Times. In the letter, the lawyers reference Mr. Epstein’s previous conviction and say “the number of young women involved in the investigation has been vastly exaggerated,” among other claims. Mr. Brende appears to have replied with a thumbs-up emoji.
Some may remember Brende for having interviewed Trump at the Davos summit in January — an interview that Trump awkwardly began by telling the audience,“I didn’t know about this” and, “I got set up.”
As the Times noted, Brende, a former Norwegian minister of foreign affairs, is among several prominent Norwegians to face institutional reckoning over their ties to Epstein. In all, we’ve seen a variety of powerful figures worldwide face scrutiny amid the Epstein fallout — among them, a now-former prince, an Emirati businessman and a former British ambassador to the United States.
Even within the U.S., we’ve seen top executives step down from powerful positions and wealthy colleges and universities rocked by Epstein’s ties to members of their faculty and leadership. The files have not led to any new criminal allegations involving sex crimes related to Epstein, but many are facing consequences for associating with a convicted sex offender.
Where accountability appears most elusive is within Trump’s orbit. At least half a dozen Trump administration officials appear in the Epstein files, NBC News reported earlier this month. Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his wish for Americans to focus their attention on “something else,” is referenced hundreds of times within the documents not currently being withheld by the Justice Department. On that note, the DOJ said it’s conducting an internal “review” after multiple outlets, including MS NOW, confirmed the Epstein files appear to be missing documents related to unverified allegations that Trump sexually assaulted a minor. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. It’s hard not to wonder how these documents were left out of the recent release of files. Can a department led by someone who openly scolded senators for focusing on the Epstein files rather than the stock market be trusted to conduct a thorough “review” of this matter? That’s probably why Democrats are conducting a probe of their own.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. 
