When the Justice Department decided last year not to release its Epstein files, U.S. officials said there was nothing in the documents that warranted further prosecution.
Trump appointees in charge of the Justice Department said that after an “exhaustive review” they had found no incriminating client list. “We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the Justice Department and FBI wrote in a memo released in July.
But after Congress required the release of millions of additional documents, authorities overseas discovered evidence of other possible crimes after combing through the files themselves.
The highest-profile example came Thursday, when U.K. authorities arrested the former Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office. U.K. police have also said they are investigating Peter Mandelson , the former ambassador to the U.S. Authorities in Norway have charged former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland with corruption, and prosecutors in France said they are opening two investigations related to Jeffrey Epstein .
The former royal, the former U.K. diplomat and Jagland, who also served as chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, have denied wrongdoing. They didn’t respond to requests for comment.
There are different laws in Europe that could lead to prosecutions, but there are also “different levels of tolerance” for high-level officials having close connections with Epstein, said Richard Painter , a law professor at the University of Minnesota and a former White House chief ethics officer.
The U.S. president has extraordinary control over the Justice Department and “is politically insulated much more so than the prime minister in most European countries,” Painter said, adding that President Trump doesn’t depend on Republican support to keep his cabinet members.
For years, U.S. officials have defended their handling of the Epstein case, including a controversial plea deal in 2008 and the DOJ’s later decision only to bring sex-trafficking charges against Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell . Epstein died in jail in 2019; Maxwell was found guilty in 2021.
“We said in July and it remains as true today, if we had info about men who abused women we would prosecute them,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in releasing the files. He added that if the department learns of abuse by men and has “evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will.”
A Justice Department spokeswoman said Thursday: “Each country has its own laws and rules of evidence. Prince Andrew was arrested for ‘misconduct in public office’ under U.K. law. No such federal crime exists here.”
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, formerly known as Prince Andrew, leaves Aylsham Police Station on a vehicle, on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after the U.S. Justice Department released more records tied to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in Aylsham, Britain, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Phil Noble TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The recently released files show that Epstein leveraged his social network to recruit victims, that Epstein connected some prominent men to his victims and that some of his associates sent him confidential information. Several lawyers and business leaders have stepped aside recently after the nature of their relationship with Epstein became public.
Documents also show how Epstein’s longtime lawyer and in-house accountant worked closely with Epstein for years and, The Wall Street Journal reported, that neither was questioned when federal authorities in New York investigated Epstein. Lawyers for the two men said they didn’t know about their boss’s crimes and denied knowingly facilitating any crimes.
The Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, said this week that authorities there will focus their investigations on two areas: possible sex trafficking and financial crimes committed by Epstein associates. She said her office has assembled a team that will comb through the millions of documents released by the Justice Department.
Beccuau said her office is looking to speak to victims who might not have come forward previously. This “will inevitably reactivate the trauma of some victims…some of whom are not necessarily known to us,” she said.
On Thursday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.), who co-sponsored the law to release the files, called on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Federal Bureau of Investigation director to act. “Prince Andrew was just arrested. This was the metric I established for success of the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” he wrote on X . “Now we need JUSTICE in the United States.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) lifts a piece of paper on a board displaying a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document, revealing an image of businessman Les Wexner, while questioning U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo
The recently released files suggest that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor forwarded confidential government reports to Epstein while the royal was serving as a trade envoy in 2010, and that Epstein introduced him to several women, including some he hosted at Buckingham Palace.
Mountbatten-Windsor was questioned by police on Thursday and hasn’t been charged. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to his dealings with Epstein.
“The Brits are showing the DOJ the way to investigate the Epstein files,” said John Fishwick, a former U.S. attorney in Virginia. “The investigation of Prince Andrew is about leaking government secrets. DOJ has focused on human trafficking but has not pursued how Epstein insiders would share with him their inside information from either governments or businesses.”
Jagland, the Norwegian politician, was charged on Feb. 12 with aggravated corruption. Police said they were looking into whether Jagland received gifts, travel or loans in connection with his position as the head of the Council of Europe, a human-rights organization.
Jagland’s lawyer, Anders Brosveet, said earlier this month that his client was cooperating with the investigation. “Based on what we have uncovered so far, we remain confident about the outcome,” he said. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jagland stayed at Epstein’s apartments, and the sex offender visited Jagland’s residence in Strasbourg, France, according to the released emails. An email exchange around a decade ago indicated that Jagland was considering a visit to Epstein’s island in the Caribbean.
Members of the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime search Thorbjorn Jagland’s apartment building as he walks, in Frogner, Oslo, Norway, February 12, 2026. NTB/Stian Lysberg Solum via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NORWAY OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NORWAY.
Epstein was frequently in France in the 15 years before his death, owning a vast apartment near the Arc de Triomphe.
French authorities recently started an investigation of Jack Lang, a former culture minister, over payments he allegedly received from Epstein. Authorities searched Lang’s office at the Institute of the Arab World, where he was president before resigning this week, and said they were investigating him for alleged tax fraud.
Lang’s lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment. His lawyer has said that neither he nor his family received money from Epstein.
In addition to the U.K., Norway and France, authorities in Lithuania and Latvia have opened investigations related to possible trafficking of women from those countries by Epstein.
Write to Khadeeja Safdar at khadeeja.safdar@wsj.com , Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com and Sadie Gurman at sadie.gurman@wsj.com
