The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday that Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq, Mona Juul, will resign from her post due to a “serious lapse in judgment” over her ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report.
- Norwegian ambassador Mona Juulová resigned due to contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
- The ministry suspended her performance and began an investigation into her connections.
- Juulová declares cooperation with the ministry in clarifying the case.
- The State Department is also reviewing grants for the institute that her husband led.
- Other Norwegian officials, including the princess, were included in Epstein’s writings.
The department already suspended Juula last week as part of an investigation into her ties to Epstein, which emerged from the recently released Epstein files. “Juul’s contact with a convicted sex offender demonstrated a serious lapse in judgment. This case makes it difficult to restore the trust this position requires.” Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said in a statement. In the past, Juulová worked as the ambassador of Norway in Israel, Britain and also at the UN.
The lawyer of 66-year-old Juula claims that she voluntarily resigned from her position, as the current situation makes it difficult for her to do her job. “Mona Juulová will continue to cooperate fully with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to ensure that all relevant facts in this matter come to light,” said lawyer Thomas Skjelbred.
The Norwegian Department of Diplomacy also said that began reviewing his previous grants to the International Institute of Peace, New York think-tank, which until 2020 was led by Juula’s husband Terje Roed-Larsen.
The former Norwegian diplomat and politician has repeatedly apologized for his ties to Epstein. His lawyer said the National Audit Office had already conducted an investigation into the matter several years ago, but Roed-Larsen said has no objection to a new investigation.
Juulová and Roed-Larsen rose to prominence as part of a small group of diplomats, who helped broker the 1993 Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), according to Reuters.
At the end of January, the US Department of Justice released what it said was the last batch of materials from the files on Epstein. These files show that several other personalities from Norway, including Crown Princess Mette-Marit, had connections to this financier.
