Epstein files lead to resignation in Slovakia and calls in Britain for former prince to cooperate

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly disclosed U.S. authorities files connected Jeffrey Epstein person prompted the resignation of a apical authoritative successful Slovakia and revived calls successful Britain for a erstwhile prince to stock what helium knows with authorities astir Epstein's links to almighty individuals astir the world.

The fallout comes conscionable a time aft the Justice Department began releasing a monolithic trove of files that offers much details astir Epstein's interactions with the affluent and celebrated aft helium served clip for enactment crimes successful Florida.

The premier curate of Slovakia accepted the resignation connected Saturday of an official, Miroslav Lajcak, who erstwhile had a yearlong word arsenic president of the U.N. General Assembly. Lajcak wasn't accused of wrongdoing but near his presumption aft photos and emails revealed helium had met with Epstein successful the years aft Epstein was released from jail.

The disclosures besides person revived questions astir whether long-time Epstein person Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known arsenic Prince Andrew, should cooperate with U.S. authorities investigating Epstein.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer connected Saturday suggested Mountbatten-Windsor should archer American investigators immoderate helium knows astir Epstein’s activities. The erstwhile prince has truthful acold ignored a petition from members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee for a “transcribed interview” astir his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein.

President Donald Trump's Justice Department said it would beryllium releasing much than 3 cardinal pages of documents on with much than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images nether a instrumentality intended to uncover astir of the worldly it collected during 2 decades of investigations involving the affluent financier.

Making his archetypal nationalist comments astir the release, Trump formed the documents arsenic a vindication of his actions.

“I didn’t spot it myself but I was told by immoderate precise important radical that not lone does it absolve me, it’s the other of what radical were hoping, you know, the extremist left,” helium told reporters Saturday nighttime arsenic helium flew to Florida.

The files, posted to the department’s website, included documents involving Epstein's relationship with Mountbatten-Windsor, and Epstein’s email correspondence with onetime Trump advisor Steve Bannon, New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and different salient contacts with radical successful political, concern and philanthropic circles, specified arsenic billionaires Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

Other documents offered a model into assorted investigations, including ones that led to enactment trafficking charges against Epstein successful 2019 and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell successful 2021, and an earlier enquiry that recovered grounds of Epstein abusing underage girls but ne'er led to national charges.

Slovakian authoritative resigns

Robert Fico, Slovakia’s premier minister, said Saturday that helium had accepted the resignation of Lajcak, his nationalist information adviser.

Lajcak, a erstwhile Slovak overseas minister, hasn’t been accused of immoderate wrongdoing, but emails showed that Epstein had invited him to meal and different meetings successful 2018.

The records besides see a March 2018 email from Epstein’s bureau to erstwhile Obama White House wide counsel Kathy Ruemmler, inviting her to a get-together with Epstein, Lajcak and Bannon, the blimpish activistic who served arsenic Trump’s White House strategist successful 2017.

Lajcak said his contacts with Epstein were portion of his diplomatic duties. Pressure mounted for his ouster from absorption parties and a nationalist spouse successful Fico’s governing coalition.

Draft indictment elaborate Epstein's abuse

The FBI started investigating Epstein successful July 2006 and agents expected him to beryllium indicted successful May 2007, according to the recently records released. A authoritative wrote up a projected indictment aft aggregate underage girls told constabulary and the FBI that they had been paid to springiness Epstein sexualized massages.

The draught indicated prosecutors were preparing to complaint not conscionable Epstein but besides 3 radical who worked for him arsenic idiosyncratic assistants.

According to interrogation notes released Friday, an worker astatine Epstein’s Florida property told the FBI successful 2007 that Epstein erstwhile had him bargain flowers and present them to a pupil astatine Royal Palm Beach High School to commemorate her show successful a schoolhouse play.

The employee, whose sanction was blacked out, said immoderate of his duties were fanning $100 bills connected a array adjacent Epstein’s bed, placing a weapon betwixt the mattresses successful his chamber and cleaning up aft Epstein’s predominant massages with young girls, including disposing of utilized condoms.

Ultimately, the U.S. lawyer successful Miami astatine the time, Alexander Acosta, signed disconnected connected a woody that fto Epstein debar national prosecution. Epstein pleaded blameworthy alternatively to a authorities complaint of soliciting prostitution from idiosyncratic nether property 18 and got an 18-month jailhouse sentence. Acosta was Trump's archetypal labour caput successful his earlier term.

Epstein offers to acceptable Andrew up connected a date

The records person thousands of references to Trump, including emails successful which Epstein and others shared quality articles, commented connected his policies, oregon gossiped astir him and his family.

Mountbatten-Windsor's sanction appears astatine slightest respective 100 times, including successful Epstein’s backstage emails. In a 2010 exchange, Epstein appeared to acceptable him up for a date.

“I person a person who I deliberation you mightiness bask having meal with,” Epstein wrote.

Mountbatten-Windsor replied that helium “would beryllium delighted to spot her.”

Epstein, whose emails often incorporate typographical errors, wrote aboriginal successful the exchange: “She 26, russian, clevere beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email.”

Concerns implicit however Justice Department handled records

The Justice Department is facing disapproval implicit however it handled the latest disclosure.

One radical of Epstein accusers said successful a connection that the caller documents made it excessively casual to place those helium abused but not those who mightiness person been progressive successful Epstein’s transgression activity.

“As survivors, we should ne'er beryllium the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized portion Epstein’s enablers proceed to payment from secrecy,” it said.

Meanwhile, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the apical Democrat connected the House Judiciary Committee, pressed the section to fto lawmakers reappraisal unredacted versions of the files arsenic soon arsenic Sunday. He said successful a connection that Congress indispensable measure whether the redactions were lawful oregon improperly shielded radical from scrutiny.

Department officials person acknowledged that galore records successful its files are duplicates, and it was wide from the documents that reviewers took antithetic degrees of attraction oregon exercised antithetic standards portion blacking retired names and different identifying information.

There were aggregate documents wherever a sanction was near exposed successful 1 copy, but redacted successful another.

Epstein’s ties to almighty connected display

The released records reinforced the Epstein was, astatine slightest earlier helium ran into ineligible trouble, affable with Trump and erstwhile President Bill Clinton. None of Epstein’s victims who person gone nationalist has accused Trump, a Republican, oregon Clinton, a Democrat, of wrongdoing. Both men said they had nary cognition Epstein was abusing underage girls.

Epstein killed himself successful a New York jailhouse successful August 2019, a period aft being indicted.

In 2021, a national assemblage successful New York convicted Maxwell, a British socialite, of enactment trafficking for helping enlistee immoderate of his underage victims. She is serving a 20-year situation sentence.

U.S. prosecutors ne'er charged anyone other successful transportation with Epstein’s abuse. One victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, sued Mountbatten-Windsor, saying she had intersexual encounters with him starting astatine property 17. The now-former prince denied having enactment with Giuffre but settled her suit for an undisclosed sum.

Giuffre died by termination past twelvemonth astatine property 41.

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The AP is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department successful collaboration with journalists from Versant, CBS and NBC. Journalists from each newsroom are moving unneurotic to analyse the files and stock accusation astir what is successful them. Each outlet is liable for its ain autarkic quality sum of the documents.

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Kirka reported from London. Finley reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert aboard Air Force One and journalists from astir the state contributed to this report.

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