February 17: Wexner Faces Congress as Jagland Charged in Norway

• Les Wexner the billionaire founder of L Brands and Victoria's Secret, is set to give sworn testimony before the House Oversight Committee tomorrow in Ohio. An internal FBI memo from August 2019 listed Wexner as a 'co-conspirator' alongside Ghislaine Maxwell. Rep. Ro Khanna publicly named Wexner as one of six powerful men whose identities had been redacted from the Epstein files. Wexner has denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claims he was told by prosecutors in 2019 that he was neither a target nor co-conspirator. WOSU →
• Thorbjørn Jagland the former Norwegian prime minister, was charged with 'gross corruption' by Norway's Økokrim prosecution service over his ties to Epstein. Police raided Jagland's home and leisure properties after the Council of Europe waived his diplomatic immunity. Released emails show Jagland planning visits to Epstein's homes in New York, Florida, and his private Caribbean island. In one exchange, Epstein referred to Jagland as 'the Nobel big shot' and discussed connecting him with Russian officials. CNN →
• Peter Mandelson the former UK politician and ambassador to the US, is under criminal investigation by London's Metropolitan Police for misconduct in public office — a charge carrying a maximum of life imprisonment. Documents revealed Mandelson received $75,000 in payments from Epstein and appeared to share market-sensitive government information, including advance notice of a 500 billion euro bank bailout. He has resigned from the Labour Party and the House of Lords, while PM Starmer apologized to Epstein victims for appointing him. Al Jazeera →
• Annie Farmer an Epstein survivor who was abused at age 16, called the DOJ's botched redactions 'weaponized incompetence,' suggesting the failures may be deliberate. A Wall Street Journal review found at least 43 victims' full names were exposed in the files, including minors. Attorneys representing over 200 victims asked federal judges to order the takedown of the DOJ's Epstein Files website, calling it 'the single most egregious violation of victim privacy in one day in United States history.' NPR →
• Turkish prosecutors are reviewing the newly released Epstein files as part of an investigation into allegations that Epstein trafficked Turkish children. This adds to a growing list of international investigations, with probes also underway in Norway, the UK, Lithuania, and France — where politician Jack Lang resigned after his contacts with Epstein were revealed. European officials are losing jobs and titles while, notably, prominent Americans with Epstein ties have largely kept their positions. Al Jazeera →