Norway ambassador to Jordan, Iraq resigns after Epstein-related files
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- Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq resigns after new disclosures linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Oslo says the case has damaged the level of trust required for a senior diplomatic post.
Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq, Mona Juul, has resigned following fresh revelations tied to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said.
In a statement issued Sunday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Juul’s contacts with Epstein represented a serious lapse in judgment, adding that accepting her resignation was the right decision under the circumstances.
He said the controversy made it difficult to restore the degree of trust needed to hold such a sensitive diplomatic position.
New documents intensify pressure
Juul and her husband, former senior Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen, have faced mounting pressure since the release of new documents connected to the Epstein case.
Media reports said the names of the couple’s two children appeared in Epstein’s will, which allocated five million dollars to each of them. The document was signed shortly before Epstein’s death while in custody.
Juul previously told Norwegian media that she met Epstein at a diplomatic-related event and that any contact with him was extremely limited. She said she regretted the interaction.
Rød-Larsen also said his past association with Epstein was a serious error in judgment.
Suspension followed by resignation
After the latest batch of documents became public last week, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry suspended Juul temporarily. She later submitted her resignation.
Read more: Members of Congress will have access to unredacted Epstein files: Axios
The ministry said it has opened an internal investigation to determine what Juul knew about Epstein, the nature and extent of any contact, and whether further consequences may follow.
Broader Epstein fallout
The US Department of Justice last week released more than three million additional files related to the Epstein investigation.
Epstein had been accused of running a sex trafficking network targeting underage girls. He was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 before standing trial on federal sex abuse charges, a death that fueled widespread speculation and conspiracy theories.
