Who Has Resigned Over Revelations in the Epstein Files?
A number of high-profile figures have resigned from their positions after new details about their ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in the latest batch of the so-called “Epstein files” released by the Justice Department.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The more than 3 million pages made public by the department late last month include mentions and photos of prominent people across the worlds of politics, business, academia, art, and entertainment. In some cases, correspondence or other documents included in the files indicate more extensive relationships between Epstein and those figures than had previously been disclosed, shedding light on years’ worth of interactions.
The appearance of someone’s name in the documents is not necessarily evidence of wrongdoing. But the fallout from the latest release has reverberated around the world, leading some people named in the files to step down from their posts, while others have faced increasing calls to do the same.
Here are some of the prominent figures who have resigned from their positions over their ties to Epstein in the weeks since the Justice Department’s most recent drop.
Billionaire heir Thomas Pritzker
Hyatt Hotels heir Thomas Pritzker on Monday resigned his post as the executive chairman of the hotel company—a position he has held for more than two decades.
The latest batch of documents released by the Justice Department include a number of emails that Pritzker exchanged with Epstein and Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors. Some of the messages involve Pritzker and Epstein—sometimes via their assistants—discussing plans to meet for dinner. Correspondence between the two men continued even after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to soliciting prostitution from a minor, the files released by the government show.
In a statement, reported by multiple media outlets, Pritzker said that he regrets his ties to Epstein and Maxwell.
“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” Pritzker said. “I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”
Authorities have not accused Pritzker of any wrongdoing.
The Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced in a press release on Monday that Pritzker was retiring as executive chairman, effective immediately. The company added that Pritzker will not be seeking re-election to the Board of Directors. Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt’s president and CEO, is succeeding Pritzker as chairman of the board, also effective immediately. The press release didn’t mention Pritzker’s ties to Epstein and Maxwell.
“I have been a proud member of the Hyatt family since the beginning of Hyatt,” Pritzker, a cousin of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, said in the press release. “It has been both an honor and one of the great experiences of my life to have contributed to Hyatt’s growth.”
Top Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathy Ruemmler
Kathy Ruemmler announced last week that she was stepping down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, effective June 30. The news came after the latest Justice Department release made public emails between Ruemmler and Epstein that appeared to show the two maintaining a close relationship years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea. In one email, dated October 2018, someone whose name is redacted wrote to Ruemmler that “Jeffrey is sending a couple of things to your NY apartment.” Ruemmler later confirmed that she received the gift, which she wrote was “so lovely and thoughtful!”, adding, “Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!”
Ruemmler, who served as White House counsel to former President Barack Obama, has said that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, and has maintained that she never provided Epstein with legal representation. Following the release, Ruemmler called Epstein a “monster.” A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said before Ruemmler’s resignation that Ruemmler “regrets ever knowing him.”
Prior to her announcement last week, she had said that she wouldn’t step down from her post at Goldman Sachs.
“Since I joined Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational, and regulatory matters; to enhance our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do,” she said in her statement, according to The Associated Press. “My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first.”
DP World Chair and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem
DP World Limited, one of the largest logistics companies in the world, announced last week that its chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, had resigned, effective immediately. The company said that Essa Kazim has been appointed to succeed bin Sulayem as chairman, and that Yuvraj Narayan has been appointed to succeed him as CEO. The press release didn’t provide any additional details about the decision, and didn’t mention Epstein.
Bin Sulayem’s name appears many times in the newly released files, which include email correspondence between him and Epstein that appears to show that the two had a yearslong friendship that continued even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. In one email released by the Justice Department, dated June 2013, Epstein wrote to bin Sulayem: “All I know for sure, is that you are one of my most trusted friends in very sense of the word, you have never let me down, not once, not half of once. and I greatly appreciate the time we spend together.” Bin Sulayem responded: “Thank you my friend I am off the sample a fresh 100% female Russian at my yacht.”
U.S. officials have also indicated that bin Sulayem was the recipient of a 2009 email from Epstein in which the late sex offender wrote, “Where are you? are you ok , I loved the torture video.” The recipient’s name was redacted in the released files. But after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky pressed the Department of Justice to make the person’s identity public—saying “A Sultan seems to have sent this”—Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the name of “the Sultan” appeared unredacted in other files and pointed to a separate email exchange between bin Sulayem and Epstein.
Authorities have not accused bin Sulayem of any wrongdoing.
Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad Karp
Brad Karp—the chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, one of the most prestigious law firms in the U.S.—stepped down earlier this month, after email correspondence between him and Epstein was released in the latest batch of files from the Justice Department.
In a statement announcing Karp’s resignation, the firm didn’t explicitly mention Karp’s ties to Epstein. But Karp said in the press release, “Leading Paul, Weiss for the past 18 years has been the honor of my professional life. Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.”
Karp has practiced at Paul, Weiss for four decades and took on the role of chairman in 2008. While he’s stepping down as chairman, Paul, Weiss said that Karp “will continue to focus his full-time attention to client service at the firm.”
A firm spokesperson told POLITICO before Karp resigned that Paul, Weiss never represented Epstein. A spokesperson said earlier this month that Karp “never witnessed or participated in any misconduct.”
Correspondence in the newly released documents details a yearslong relationship between Karp and Epstein. In one email released by the Justice Department, dated July 2015, Karp thanked Epstein “for including me in an evening I’ll never forget.”
“It was truly ‘once in a lifetime’ in every way, though I hope to be invited again,” Karp said in the email. “You are an extraordinary host – and your home….!!!”
Epstein replied, “you are always welcome. there are many many nights of unique talents. you will be invited often.”
In another email released by the Justice Department, dated March 2019, Karp appears to be discussing a draft court filing from Epstein’s attorneys, in which they argued that Epstein’s 2008 plea deal shouldn’t be reopened.
“The draft motion is in great shape. It’s overwhelmingly persuasive. Truly,” Karp said in his email. “I particularly liked the argument that the ‘victims’ lied in wait and sat on their rights for their strategic advantage, knowing you were in prison, before they came forward.”
Norwegian Ambassador Mona Juul
Mona Juul, a Norwegian ambassador who participated in peace talks between Israel and Palestine in the 1990s, resigned earlier this month after her ties to Epstein generated controversy.
“This is the right and necessary decision,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said in a press release. “Juul’s contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein revealed a serious lapse in judgment. The situation makes it difficult to restore the trust that the role requires.”
The announcement came days after Juul was relieved of her duties as the country’s ambassador to Jordan, amid reports that Epstein left her children $10 million in a will that was drafted before he died in prison in 2019.
Norway’s Foreign MInistry said that it was investigating “Juul’s knowledge of and contact with Epstein” and that the probe would continue after Juul stepped down from her position.
“It’s important to understand the extent of her contact with Epstein in her capacity as an employee of the Ministry,” Eide said in the press release. “Particularly, we need to determine whether the relationship impacted her work as a diplomat.”
Juul’s lawyer told the New York Times in a statement that she “does not recognize the accusations made against her.”
Juul told a Norwegian news agency earlier this month that her interactions with Epstein stemmed from her husband’s relationship with him, and that she didn’t have her own, separate relationship with Epstein, according to the AP. While she said that her interactions with Epstein were not part of her professional duties, she said that she should have exercised more caution.
House of Lords Member Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, stepped down from the Labour Party earlier this month, after his name appeared in the newly released documents multiple times.
The files include bank statements that suggest that Epstein made three payments, totaling $75,000, to accounts tied to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. The documents also include emails between Mandelson and Epstein, including one from June 2009 in which Mandelson, who was business secretary at the time, appeared to have forwarded a government memo to Epstein.
Mandelson was earlier removed from his role as the U.K.’s ambassador to the U.S. in September, after the nation’s foreign office said that previously released correspondence between Mandelson and Epstein revealed that their relationship was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”
Mandelson has said that he didn’t do anything criminal.
Slovakian minister Miroslav Lajcak
Miroslav Lajcak, the national security adviser to Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, resigned at the end of January, after his name appeared several times in the latest document drop by the Justice Department.
Text messages and emails in the latest release appear to show Lajcak and Epstein discussing topics including movies, foreign affairs, and women. In one text exchange released by the Justice Department, dated October 2018, Lajcak appears to message an unnamed number, “Regards from Kiev! Just to confirm that girls here are as gorgeous as ever:)”.
Lajcak has denied any wrongdoing and told local media that he stepped down from his post so that Fico wouldn’t have to bear the political costs of the blowback Lajcak was receiving.
Arab World Institute in Paris head Jack Lang
Jack Lang said earlier this month that he was stepping down from his position as the head of the Arab World Institute, a Paris cultural organization. The announcement came amid allegations that Lang had financial ties to Epstein, which have led French authorities to launch an investigation into him.
Lang, formerly France’s culture minister, was mentioned in the Epstein files hundreds of times. The documents released by the Justice Department revealed that he and Epstein corresponded even after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea. French prosecutors said they were investigating Lang and his daughter over allegations of “aggravated tax fraud laundering,” after the French media outlet Mediapart reported that the family and Epstein were allegedly linked through an offshore company that Epstein set up in 2016 and Lang’s daughter owned half the shares of.
Lang’s lawyer told RTL radio that Lang “is very sad and deeply hurt to be leaving a position he loves,” but that he was putting “the interests of the Arab World Institute first,” the AP reported. His lawyer said that Lang denies the allegations against him.
New York School of Visual Arts department chair David A. Ross
Earlier this month, David A. Ross stepped down as department chair at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, after email correspondence between him and Epstein was revealed in the latest document drop by the Justice Department.
The two men continued communicating even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. In one email released by the Justice Department, dated in 2009, Epstein wrote to Ross, “I might want to fund an exhibition entitled statutory.. girls and boys ages 14 – 25.. where they look nothing like their true ages. Juvenile mug shots. , photo shop, make up. some people go to prison because they can’t tell true age. controversial . fun.”
Ross replied, “You are incredible. This would be a very owerful and freaky book.”
Ross, who once led renowned art institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, told the Times that he regretted that he was “taken in” by Epstein’s story, adding that he was “appalled” by Epstein’s crimes and was “deeply concerned” for the victims.
Ross has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Calls for further resignations
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to step down from his position, after the Justice Department’s latest document drop revealed that Lutnick’s ties to Epstein were more extensive than he had previously disclosed.
The newly released files appear to show that Lutnick and Epstein, who at one point were neighbors on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, continued to interact for years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. Among the documents released by the Justice Department are emails in which Lutnick seemed to discuss visiting Epstein’s private island in 2012. Lutnick has since confirmed that he and his family went to Epstein’s private island that year, though he previously said that he had ended his relationship with the disgraced financier years earlier. He said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Feb. 10 that he and his family were on vacation at the time of the visit, and were only on the island for about an hour.
Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing.
“I didn’t look through the documents with any fear whatsoever, because I know and my wife knows that I have done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard,” he said at the hearing. “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person. Okay?”
Several lawmakers accused Lutnick of misrepresenting the extent of his ties to Epstein. Some have said he should resign, including Massie, who co-authored the law that required the Justice Department to release all the files related to Epstein. “Really, he should make life easier on the President, frankly, and just resign,” Massie told CNN’s Inside Politics.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California have also called on Lutnick to step down.
Public backlash has also surged against Casey Wasserman, the founder of the entertainment and sports agency the Wasserman Media Group, after flirtatious email exchanges between Wasserman and Maxwell in 2003 became public in the newly released files.
Some of Wasserman’s big-name clients, including popstar Chappell Roan and soccer legend Abby Wambach, left his agency after the document drop. Last week, Wasserman said that he was planning to sell the agency.
Wasserman has also faced calls to step down as the head of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing team from the city’s mayor, Karen Bass. Bass told CNN on Monday that she “cannot fire him” herself, but that “my opinion is that he should step down” as the head of the organizing team.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has brushed off questions about Wasserman in the wake of the Department of Justice’s latest release.
“I understand there are many conversations happening at this moment but I will not make any further comment,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said on Tuesday at a press conference. “This is obviously a matter for the board of LA28 still at this stage.”
The LA Olympics board previously expressed support for Wasserman continuing in his role after it conducted a review of his contact with Epstein and Maxwell, which Wasserman cooperated with.
Wasserman has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and Maxwell.
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” he said in a previous statement, the AP reported. He added that his communication with Maxwell was “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”