Epstein revelations have toppled top figures in Europe while US fallout is more muted

A prince, an ambassador, senior diplomats, top politicians. All brought down by the Jeffrey Epstein files. And all in Europe, rather than the United States.

The huge trove of Epstein documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice has sent shock waves through Europe’s political, economic, and social elites — dominating headlines, ending careers, and spurring both political and criminal investigations.

Former U.K. Ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson was fired and could face prison time. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a leadership crisis over the Mandelson appointment. Senior figures have fallen in Norway, Sweden, and Slovakia. And, even before the latest batch of files, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of King Charles III, lost his honors, princely title, and taxpayer-funded mansion.

Apart from the former Prince Andrew, none of these individuals faces claims of sexual wrongdoing. Rather, they have been toppled for maintaining friendly relationships with Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender.

“Epstein collected powerful people the way others collect frequent flyer points,” explained Mark Stephens, a specialist in international and human rights law at Howard Kennedy in London. “But the receipts are now in public, and some might wish they’d traveled less.”

The documents were published after a public outcry over Epstein became a crisis for President Donald Trump’s administration, leading to a rare bipartisan effort to force the government to open its investigative files. Yet in the U.S., the publication has not brought the same public reckoning with Epstein’s associates as seen in Europe.

Rob Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, noted that in Britain, “if you’re in those files, it’s immediately a big story.”

“It suggests to me we have a more functional media, we have a more functional accountability structure, that there is still a degree of shame in politics, in terms of people will say: ‘This is just not acceptable, this is just not done,'” he said.

U.K. figures felled by their ties to Epstein include the former Prince Andrew — who paid millions to settle a lawsuit with one of Epstein’s victims and is facing pressure to testify in the U.S. — and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, whose charity shut down this week.

Like others now ensnared, veteran politician Mandelson long downplayed his relationship with Epstein, despite calling him “my pest pal” in 2003. The new files reveal contact continued for years after the financier’s 2008 prison term for sexual offenses involving a minor. In a July 2009 message, Mandelson appeared to refer to Epstein’s release from prison as “liberation day.”

Starmer fired Mandelson in September over earlier revelations about his Epstein ties. Now British police are investigating whether Mandelson committed misconduct in public office by passing on sensitive government information to Epstein.

Starmer has apologized to Epstein’s victims and pledged to release public documents that will show Mandelson lied when being vetted for the ambassador’s job. That may not be enough to stop furious lawmakers from trying to eject the prime minister from office over his failure of judgment.

Experts caution that Britain shouldn’t be too quick to pat itself on the back over its rapid reckoning with Mandelson. The U.S. has a better record than the U.K. when it comes to declassifying and publishing information.

However, Alex Thomas, executive director of the Institute for Government think tank, said “there is something about parliamentary democracy,” with its need for a prime minister to retain the confidence of Parliament to stay in office, “that I think does help drive accountability.”

A few high-profile Americans have faced repercussions over their friendly ties with Epstein. Most prominent is former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who went on leave from academic positions at Harvard University late last year.

Brad Karp quit last week as chair of top U.S. law firm Paul Weiss after revelations in the latest batch of documents, and the National Football League said it would investigate Epstein’s relationship with New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, who exchanged sometimes crude emails with Epstein about potential dates with adult women.

Other U.S. Epstein associates have not yet faced severe sanction, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who exchanged hundreds of texts with Epstein, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who accepted an invitation to visit Epstein’s private island, and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who discussed visiting the island in emails but says he never made the trip.

Across Europe, the Epstein files have revealed a global network of royals, political leaders, billionaires, bankers, and academics that the wealthy financier built around him.

The fallout has been particularly acute in Scandinavia. Norway’s economic crimes unit has opened a corruption investigation into former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland — who also once headed the committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize — over his ties with Epstein.

Also ensnared are Norwegian diplomat couple Terje Rød-Larsen and Mona Juul, key players in the 1990s Israel-Palestinian peace efforts. Juul has been suspended as Norway’s ambassador to Jordan after revelations including the fact that Epstein left the couple’s children $10 million in a will drawn up shortly before his 2019 death.

Norwegians’ respect for their royal family has been dented by new details about Epstein’s friendship with Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who is married to the heir to the throne. The files include jokey exchanges and emails planning visits to Epstein properties. The princess apologized Friday “to all of you whom I have disappointed.”

Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have set up wide-ranging official investigations into the documents. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a team would scour the files for potential Polish victims and any links between Epstein and Russian secret services.

As new revelations continue to emerge, the contrast between Europe’s swift accountability and America’s more muted response remains stark—a difference that analysts attribute to varying political systems and cultural attitudes toward power and misconduct.