The release of new materials on January 30 by the Department of Justice tied to Jeffrey Epstein has ignited scrutiny of powerful figures across the world. While the release has triggered arrests, investigations, and political fallout in Europe, the United States has seen little comparable accountability for powerful figures connected to Epstein’s network.
Among those implicated in the newly available files is Lord Peter Mandelson, an influential British politician often credited as one of the architects of the modern British Labour Party. In the wake of the document release, Mandelson was arrested in February 2026 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Email exchanges reveal that Mandelson had a close personal relationship with Epstein, received tens of thousands of British pounds from him, and gave him advance notice of highly sensitive government information. Mandelson’s arrest comes days after that of former Prince Andrew, the first senior British royal to be arrested in nearly 400 years. Months before Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, public outrage over his ties to Epstein and his alleged sexual abuse of then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre compelled King Charles to strip his brother of his royal titles, honors, and privileges.
The impact of the Epstein files release has not only been felt in the UK but across the European continent. In Norway, revelations of the Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s regular communications with Jeffrey Epstein and holiday at his Palm Beach villa have placed intense pressure on the Norwegian royal family. In fact, public support for Norway having a monarchy has dropped from 72% in 2024 to 54% in 2026, and recent polls indicate that half of the Norwegian public now believes Mette-Marit can no longer become queen. The scandal prompted Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, to publicly agree that Crown Princess Mette-Marit had shown “poor judgment” in maintaining contact with Epstein, breaking a long-standing convention that elected leaders do not publicly criticize members of the royal family. Alongside the controversy surrounding the royal family, Norway’s former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland has been charged with “gross corruption” after the files revealed email correspondence with Epstein suggesting he may have received gifts in connection with his position. In addition, Norwegian authorities have launched an investigation on suspicion of gross corruption into diplomat Mona Juul and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen.
While Europe has taken an increasingly aggressive approach towards those explicitly implicated in the Epstein files, the United States, by contrast, has yielded no arrests, convictions, or serious public reckoning other than for Epstein’s ex-girlfriend and convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. In fact, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in defense of the Department of Justice, has stated that “there was nothing in [the files] that allowed us to prosecute anybody.”
One possible explanation is that the tone adopted by national leaders may shape how governments respond to the Epstein files. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has expressed explicit support for ongoing and further investigations, emphasizing “nobody is above the law.” Starmer has also publicly apologized to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein for his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the United States and has asked officials to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage. Similarly, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has stated that it is crucial that the relationships between prominent Norwegians and Jeffrey Epstein be investigated to the full extent. Unlike its European counterparts, the United States does not appear to have a similar mandate from its head of government directing authorities to act. Instead, the current administration seems inclined to move on, with the President stating, “It’s really time for the country to maybe get onto something else.”
The difference between Europe’s response and that of the United States highlights a troubling lack of consequences for powerful figures connected to Epstein. When credible allegations arise that powerful individuals may have participated in, enabled, or benefited from exploitative systems, consistent investigation, at a minimum, is critical to maintaining public trust and protecting potential victims. However, in contrast to the United Kingdom and Norway, the United States seems to lack the political pressure or will to hold those who supported, befriended, and committed crimes with Jeffrey Epstein accountable.
The lack of political pressure in the United States to hold those named in the Epstein files accountable also reflects a broader failure of accountability for sexual exploitation, as American law enforcement rarely targets sex buyers. Men who buy sex remain the least visible and least prosecuted participants in the commercial sex trade across nearly every jurisdiction, despite their integral role in sustaining a global industry of exploitation. Prostitution and human trafficking are intrinsically linked, and attitudes regarding one inevitably affect the other. Failing to focus accountability on sex buyers rather than prostituted individuals reinforces existing cultural attitudes toward prostitution and sustains the demand that drives human trafficking. This understanding drives The CSE Institute’s support and encouragement of the US Department of Justice to investigate those who facilitated Epstein’s orchestrated abuse as well the investigation of sex buyers and facilitators in every case of commercial sexual exploitation.
This piece is part of our first-year law student blog series. Congratulations to Schuyler Gebhardt on being chosen!
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.