Corruption expert questions why former foreign minister Jagland was left out of Norway's Epstein hearing

During the Storting’s inquiry into the Jeffrey Epstein network, the Control and Constitution Committee chose to focus on officials from the past 20 years, thereby excluding former prime minister and foreign minister Thorbjørn Jagland. Corruption expert and NHH professor Tina Søreide said Jagland’s involvement in the broader scandal makes his insights valuable, even though his service predates the committee’s timeframe.

She questioned the rationale for the 20-year limit, noting that other investigations have looked further back to map connections among figures like Terje Rød-Larsen and Mona Juul. Søreide also highlighted concerns about incomplete documentation in the foreign ministry, which could make it difficult to corroborate statements made at the hearing. Committee spokesperson Jonas Andersen Sayed explained that a separate police investigation and an independent commission, set to report in 2028, are handling deeper probes, and one outlet hearing is deliberately limited to avoid overlapping with those efforts. Future hearings may include Jagland once the commission’s findings are available.