Norway Opens Epstein Hearings as Parliament Examines Documented Links to Politicians and Diplomats

Børge Brende admitted he lied about meeting Jeffrey Epstein as Norway's parliament opened public hearings into the late financier's links to the country's political and diplomatic establishment.

The former Norwegian foreign minister told the Storting's Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs that he initially denied meeting Epstein because he feared their contact would be interpreted as more extensive than it was and could damage the World Economic Forum shortly before Davos.

Brende called the decision poor judgement and apologised for not being truthful when Aftenposten asked him about Epstein in November 2025.

Brende Admits Lying About Epstein

Brende said his contact with Epstein consisted of three dinners, along with email and SMS exchanges.

He also told the hearing that he had no contact with Epstein while serving as Norway's foreign minister from 2013 to 2017, saying their relationship began only after he left government.

His admission has now become one of the most striking moments of Norway's Epstein hearing. After initially denying that he had met Epstein, Brende later acknowledged that the answer he gave to Aftenposten was untrue.

He subsequently stepped down as president and CEO of the World Economic Forum in February 2026 after scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein.

The WEF Funding Question

Brende's Epstein meetings are only one part of the questions surrounding his record.

During his time as foreign minister, Norway's Foreign Ministry entered a 2015 agreement with the World Economic Forum. The organisation subsequently received 54 million kroner from Norway's development aid budget over the following two years, with total Norwegian support reported at 124 million kroner.

Committee member Lars Haltbrekken said he wanted to examine whether Brende's WEF role created questions about role-mixing and whether it influenced his work as foreign minister.

The hearing is therefore examining more than Brende's private contact with Epstein. It is also probing how senior officials handled public responsibilities, outside roles and relationships with powerful international figures.

What Parliament Is Investigating

Eleven current and former foreign and development ministers are being questioned over practices within Norway's Foreign Ministry following revelations from the Epstein files.

The inquiry includes questions about government grants to the International Peace Institute, a think tank headed by Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen from 2005 to 2020. Norway's Foreign Ministry paid more than 130 million kroner to the institute between 1997 and 2018.

Rød-Larsen and his wife, former diplomat Mona Juul, are under investigation in Norway over corruption allegations. Rød-Larsen faces suspicion of complicity in aggravated corruption, while Juul is being investigated for aggravated corruption. Both deny wrongdoing.

Støre Rejects Systemic Failure

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who served as foreign minister from 2005 to 2012, also appeared before the committee.

Støre said he had never met or had contact with Epstein and that there was no information showing Epstein had been involved in Norway's foreign or development policy. He argued that the problems concerned a few individuals rather than the Foreign Ministry as a whole.

He also pointed to updated conflict-of-interest rules and said stronger safeguards were needed.

Wider Epstein Fallout

The scrutiny extends beyond Brende, Rød-Larsen and Juul.

Former prime minister and foreign minister Thorbjørn Jagland is also under investigation on suspicion of aggravated corruption. He was not summoned to the parliamentary hearing, partly because he served as foreign minister before 2005 and lawmakers wanted to avoid interfering with the police investigation. He denies wrongdoing.

Queen Mette-Marit, wife of King Haakon, has separately apologised for her friendship with Epstein but is not appearing before the committee.

Parliament has also established an independent commission of academics and legal experts to examine the wider revelations and Norway's handling of integrity and transparency issues.

The commission is examining more than 30 years of diplomatic history and is due to report by 31 January 2028.

For now, Brende's admission has given Norway's Epstein scandal a striking new focal point. The question confronting parliament is no longer simply who met Epstein, but how those relationships were handled by people entrusted with public power.