Epstein Files Fallout: The Resignations, Firings, and Arrests
The names that have been linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein read like a Whoâs Who of late 20th-century and early 21st-century power brokers. The wealthy financier moved in elite circles and used his money and influence to court the rich and powerful, including heads of state (Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Ehud Barak), titans of industry (Bill Gates and Richard Branson), and even royalty (Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor).
Of course, having your picture taken with Epstein or having your name mentioned in released documents does not constitute wrongdoing. But for much of the decades-long scandal, the most significant consequence anyone faced for their association with Epstein was embarrassment.
In early 2026 that started to change.
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The release of millions of pages of documents in late 2025 and 2026 has increasingly led to lost careers and potentially much more, from European capitals to Wall Street to the halls of academia.
Peter Attia
Longevity influencer left CBS: A medical doctor, Attia joined CBS News as a contributor in January 2026. A month later he announced he was stepping away from the role. He had already resigned as chief science officer at the protein bar company David a few weeks earlier. Attiaâs name appeared some 1,700 times in the January 2026 release of Epstein documents. He exchanged crude emails with Epstein, expressed fondness for him, and arranged medical testing for the financier. Attia says he was unaware of any of Epsteinâs wrongdoing.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem
Emirati business leader ousted from logistics company: The Dubai-based businessman and the brother of the head of Formula One racingâs governing body exchanged emails with Epstein that referenced a âtorture videoâ that bin Sulayem had apparently shared with Epstein. His was one of the names revealed as part of the move by U.S. members of Congress Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie to unredact names within the files. He was replaced as chair and CEO of DP World, a logistics firm based in Dubai and owned by the royal family, in February 2026 after the emails were released by the Justice Department.
Thorbjørn Jagland
Former prime minister of Norway facing charges: The prominent Norwegian politician, who led Norway for a year in the late 1990s, was charged with âgross corruptionâ and his properties searched in February 2026 on suspicion that he may have received gifts and loans from Epstein. According to released documents, Jagland, who at the time of their relationship was the head of the Council of Europe, and Epstein exchanged emails frequently, including in 2018 when Epstein suggested that Jagland should connect him with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
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Mona Juul
Norwegian ambassador tied to Epstein will: The ambassador resigned her post as her countryâs ambassador to Jordan and Iraq in February 2026 amid reporting that members of her family had been left $10 million in Epsteinâs will. She and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, are the subject of a criminal investigation in Norway. Rod-Larsen resigned his position as president and chief executive of the International Peace Institute in 2020, when it was revealed that he had had inappropriate financial dealings with Epstein.
Brad Karp
Prominent attorney no longer heading firm: The longtime chair of the Wall Street power firm Paul Weiss abruptly resigned the role he had held for 18 years in February 2026 after released documents indicated a close relationship with Epstein, including Karp asking Epstein to get his son a job on a Woody Allen movie and thanking him for âan evening Iâll never forget.â Karp remains a lawyer at Paul Weiss.
Miroslav LajÄĂĄk
Slovakiaâs national security adviser resigns: The key adviser to Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico resigned after the release of emails between LajÄĂĄk and Epstein. In one exchange about young women, LajÄĂĄk wrote to Epstein, âSharing is caring.â For his part, Fico decried LajÄĂĄkâs resignation, saying that he was âan incredible source of experience in diplomacy.â
Jack Lang
Franceâs former minister of culture steps down: The head of the Arab World Institute announced his resignation from one of Parisâs leading cultural institutions in February 2026. Lang had been Franceâs minister of culture under Pres. François Mitterrand. Among the Justice Departmentâs documents is a video of Epstein and Lang outside the Louvre in Paris.
Peter Mandelson
Former British ambassador to the United States arrested: The longtime British politician was fired from his ambassadorship by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September 2025. Mandelson appears multiple times in the files, including calling Epstein âmy best pal.â The released documents indicate that Mandelson may have leaked internal government information to Epstein, allowing Epstein to benefit. In February 2026 he resigned from the Labour Party and the House of Lords. Later that month he was arrested on suspicion of passing documents to Epstein.
Morgan McSweeney
Starmerâs chief of staff out for poor judgment: Although McSweeney has no known ties to Epstein, he resigned under pressure because he recommended Mandelson for the ambassadorship even though Mandelsonâs relationship with Epstein was known.
George Mitchell
Former Senate majority leader and diplomat stripped of honors: In February 2026 Mitchell, a longtime Maine Democrat who played a pivotal role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, resigned from a scholarship organization that bears his name. Additionally Queenâs University Belfast removed a bust of Mitchell, and a prestigious scholarship that bore his name is being renamed. Mitchellâs relationship with Epstein, which went on for decades and had long been known, is being reassessed in the wake of the January 2026 document release in which Mitchellâs name appears some 300 times. Mitchell also wrote a note in the now-infamous Epstein birthday book, in which he said, âThe beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to count our blessings. Among mine is your friendship.â
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Further disgrace for the former prince: Mountbatten-Windsorâs sordid relationship with Epstein has played out more publicly than most, and his fall has seemed both inevitable and astounding. In 2001, when she was 17, Virginia Roberts Giuffre was photographed with Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein coconspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. The now-infamous image shows the prince with his arm draped around the teenagerâs waist. Giuffre later said that she was forced to have sex with him, after being trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell. In 2019 Mountbatten-Windsor gave a disastrous television interview in which he denied all wrongdoing and described Epsteinâs conduct as âunbecoming.â Shortly thereafter, he stepped down from being a working royal. In October 2025 Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his titles. The former prince was arrested in February 2026 on suspicion of misusing his public office by supplying Epstein with confidential documents that Mountbatten-Windsor had access to in his role as British trade envoy.
Thomas Pritzker
Hyatt Hotels executive chair leaves company: Saying that he failed to âprovide good stewardshipâ for his company, the cousin of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his resignation in February 2026. Released documents show that Thomas Pritzker and Epstein continued to exchange emails and have meals together long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting a teenage girl for prostitution.
Kathryn Ruemmler
Former Obama White House counsel took gifts: The files include emails in which Ruemmler referred to Epstein as âUncle Jeffrey.â Over the years Epstein showered her with gifts, including a $9,000 purse, while she provided him with advice on how to answer difficult questions about his sex life. Less than two weeks after the January release of documents in which Ruemmler appears some 10,000 times, she resigned from her position as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, effective in June.
Lawrence Summers
Former U.S. treasury secretary leaving Harvard: Although Lawrence Summersâs relationship with Epstein first became known in 2023, in November 2025 new emails dating from 2017 to 2019 were released. In one, Summers asked Epstein for dating advice regarding a young woman Summers described as a mentee. The revelation led Summers to step down from teaching at Harvard University and from the board of OpenAI, among other roles. In February 2026 Harvard announced that Summers would resign from all academic and faculty roles at the university by the end of the school year as a result of his relationship with Epstein. The poet Elisa New, Summersâs wife, had her PBS show Poetry in America canceled when it became known that Epstein helped fund the program.
Casey Wasserman
Talent and sports agent selling his firm: The marketing mogul, who is also the chair of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, announced he would sell his stake in the firm that bears his name after flirtatious emails between him and Epstein coconspirator Maxwell came to light. The emails date from the early 2000s, long before Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking. Key clients of his agency, including soccer star Abby Wambach, left the firm in light of the revelations. Wasserman has said he intends to continue to serve on the Olympic committee, despite some calls for him to resign.
