Chatham House / Wikimedia
Thorbjørn Jagland, former Secretary General of the Council of Europe
The emails indicate that Epstein contacted Thorbjørn Jagland to ask for help in reaching the Russian Foreign Minister. The two also talked about Donald Trump.
Documents about Jeffrey Epstein recently revealed by the United States Congress show that the billionaire convicted of sexual crimes tried to establish contact with senior Russian officials during Donald Trump’s first term. Along the way, Epstein contacted Thorbjørn Jagland, then secretary general of the Council of Europe and former prime minister of Norway.
In emails dated June 24, 2018 cited by , Epstein asked Jagland to help him facilitate a connection with the Kremlin. “I think I might suggest to Putin that Lavrov can get information about how to talk to me,” Epstein wrote, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Jagland responded that he would meet with Lavrov’s advisor the next day and “suggest” such a connection, adding in a message full of crows: “Thanks for a pleasant evening. I will attend a high-level meeting next week.”
It is not yet clear whether any subsequent meeting or discussion took place. In the same email exchange, Epstein referenced previous conversations with Russia’s former UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, who passed away in 2017. “Churkin was great“, wrote Epstein. “He understood Trump after our conversations. It’s not complex. He needs to demonstrate that he understands something, it’s as simple as that.”
Contacted by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, Jagland stated that this type of contact was part of the routine diplomatic engagementsaying that he often met people who introduced him to other people. He stressed, however, that he “strongly” distanced himself from Epstein after learning of his criminal behavior.
Jagland explained that, at the time, his priority was understanding President Trump and dealing with the tensions surrounding the Russia’s status in the Council of Europe. Several member states were pushing for Moscow’s exclusion, which would deprive Russians of access to the European Court of Human Rights.
Jagland, who led the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019, publicly opposed the possible Russia’s withdrawal from the institution during conflicts over the annexation of Crimea, classifying such a measure as a “huge setback” for human rights. The Council of Europe declined to comment on the recently released communications.
Epstein died by suicide in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges and has recently been in the news again due to his connections to several celebrities and influential political figures such as and .
The set of emails is part of thousands of pages released by the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Wednesday and reveals details of Epstein’s apparent attempts to advise or influence foreign governments years after his first conviction in 2008. Some messages suggest that Epstein claimed to be advising Russian authorities on Trump’s diplomatic style.
In response to the release of the documents, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the emails “prove absolutely nothing other than that President Trump didn’t do anything wrong“.
