Newly released US government files on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have sparked political fallout abroad, leading to the resignation of a senior official in Slovakia and renewed calls in Britain for a former prince to cooperate with American investigators.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday accepted the resignation of Miroslav Lajcak, his national security adviser and a former UN General Assembly president, after disclosures showed he had met Epstein following Epstein’s release from jail in Florida. Lajcak has not been accused of wrongdoing and said the contacts were part of his diplomatic work, but pressure mounted from opposition parties and coalition partners.
In Britain, the disclosures revived demands for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, to share what he knows about Epstein’s global network. Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggested he should cooperate with US authorities. Mountbatten-Windsor has so far ignored a request from a US congressional committee for an interview regarding his long-standing association with Epstein.
The revelations follow the US Justice Department’s release of a vast archive — millions of pages, videos and images — detailing Epstein’s dealings with powerful figures after his 2008 conviction for sex crimes. The files include correspondence with politicians, business leaders and philanthropists, and shed new light on investigations that later led to Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking charges and the 2021 conviction of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Documents also show prosecutors once prepared a detailed indictment accusing Epstein of abusing underage girls, though he ultimately avoided federal charges through a plea deal.
Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Critics say the document release still leaves unanswered questions about accountability for those who enabled Epstein’s crimes.