February has been a month of reckoning for those linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Justice Department’s recent release of 3.5 million files has spurred the resignations of more than twenty high-profile academics, political leaders, lawyers and businessmen for their connection to the convicted sex offender.
As Time Magazine noted, the appearance of someone’s name in the DOJ’s database is not necessarily evidence of wrongdoing, and a resignation is not an admittance of guilt.
A timeline of Epstein-related resignations in the past month:
January 31 — Miroslav Lajcak resigned from his role as national security adviser to Slovakia, over his text messages with Epstein. In one exchange from October 2018, Epstein sent him a photo of two women, and Lajcak responded, “Why don’t you invite me for these games? I would take the ‘MI’ girl.”
February 1 — Peter Mandelson resigned as U.K.’s ambassador to the U.S., and on Monday, he was arrested by British police. Mandelson’s name appears in the files nearly 6,000 times. He is accused of showing Epstein internal government information during his tenure as U.K. trade envoy from 2004 to 2008.
February 2 — Joanna Rubinstein resigned as chairwoman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), after the files exposed her family trip to Epstein’s private island in 2012. Epstein was charged four years earlier with procuring a child for prostitution.
February 3 — David A. Ross resigned as chair of the School of Visual Arts. Ross met Epstein in the mid-’90s. The files show several instances in which Ross reached out to Epstein about his prosecution. In 2009, he referenced Epstein’s deposition and said, “This is not what you needed or deserved. That lawyer was a complete (expletive), and I think you handled yourself with dignity.” In 2015, he wrote, “It is depressing to see how you are once again being dragged through the mud. I’m still proud to call you a friend.” Upon his resignation, Ross said, his friendship with Epstein was “a terrible mistake of judgement.”
February 4 — Brad Karp resigned as chairman of the high-powered law firm Paul Weiss. In 2015, Karp thanked Epstein for inviting him to his home. He described it as “an evening I’ll never forget” and added that he “hope(ed) to be invited again.” They stayed in correspondence through 2019, the year Epstein died. A Paul Weiss spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that Karp only attended two dinners with Epstein and “never witnessed or participated in any misconduct.”
February 5 — Former Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, resigned as chairman of the Mitchell Institute. The files record their correspondence between the mid-1990s through the mid-2010s, and his name appears around 300 times.
February 5 — David Stern resigned from the advisory board of Cambridge Judge Business School. The Epstein files include Stern’s name 7,500 times and document him frequently visiting Epstein’s homes.
February 7 — Former French culture minister Jack Lang resigned as president of the Arab World Institute (IMA) over his communication with Epstein between 2012 and 2019.
February 8 — The chief of staff for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, resigned from office. Upon leaving, he said he took “full responsibility” for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S.
February 8 — Mona Juul resigned as Norwegian ambassador to Iraq, and the country has launched an “aggravated corruption” investigation into her and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen. In 2011, Rød-Larsen visited Epstein’s private island with his family. In an email sent that March, Rød-Larsen said, “Thanks, Jeff for a great day on a wonderful and totally unique place! We all loved it.” In Epstein’s will, he gave $5 million to each of Juul and Rød-Larsen’s children.
February 11 — Columbia University cut ties with Dr. Thomas Magnani and stripped Dr. Letty Moss-Salentijn of administrative duties. The Epstein files allegedly showed the pair helping Epstein’s girlfriend bypass the dental college’s normal admission process.
February 12 — Former counsel to President Barack Obama, Kathy Ruemmler, resigned from Goldman Sachs. The files show Ruemmler’s close relationship with Epstein, in which she referred to him as “Uncle Jeffrey." The documents show Epstein paying for her travel, giving her luxury items and helping her advance her career to finance after the White House.
February 12 — Thorbjørn Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway, was placed under police investigation for “gross corruption” related to Epstein. The files document Jagland accepting gifts, travel and loans from Epstein. Their relationship lasted from the early 2010s until 2019, when Epstein died in jail. In one email from 2016, Jagland called Epstein “such a nice and interesting person, learning something new every minute when speaking with him.”
February 13 — Ahmed bin Sulayem resigned as CEO of Dubai Port World, after the files showed him discussing escort girls and sexual massages with Epstein.
February 13 — Casey Wasserman announced his intent to sell his entertainment agency. The documents show a flirty exchange from 2003 he had with Epstein’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell.
February 16 — Thomas Pritzker resigned as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels. Pritzker was a frequent guest at Epstein’s New York City home, and the documents show their correspondence spanning more than a decade.
February 20 — Former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., resigned as chairman of the clean-energy company, Monolith. Kerrey met with Epstein at least twice in early 2013.
February 23 — Peter Attia resigned as a CBS contributor. In an email to Epstein in late December, 2017, Attia wrote, “I want to make 2018 the year we get serious about your health . . . if for no other reason, at least you can keep up with the 23-year-old beauties.” In a lengthy X post from February 2, Attia said he “was not involved in any criminal activity,” “was never on his plane, never on his island and never present at any sex parties,” and his “interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone.”
February 24 — Richard Axel, a Nobel laureate, resigned from Columbia University’s neuroscience institute. Axel’s correspondence with Epstein lasted from 2010 to 2019, and the records include his and his wife’s one-way tickets to the landing point for Epstein’s private island. A statement released by the university on Tuesday said they’d seen “no evidence that Dr. Axel violated any University policy or law.”
February 25 — Lawrence H. Summers, a former treasury secretary who served under Bill Clinton, resigned from teaching at Harvard University. The documents show Summers asking Epstein for advice about women and finances up until the financier was arrested in the summer of 2019. Summers issued a statement following his resignation, in which he expressed gratitude for the “thousands of students and colleagues I have been privileged to teach and work with since coming to Harvard as a graduate student 50 years ago.”
February 26 — Borge Brende, the chief executive and president of World Economic Forum, resigned on Thursday. In a statement following his resignation, Brende said, “I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the forum to continue its important work without distractions.”