Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Prime Minister of Norway, has been admitted to the hospital. This hospitalization comes a mere two weeks after he faced charges of aggravated corruption, which stemmed from revelations in documents connected to
His attorney, Anders Brosveet of Elden Law Firm, informed Bloomberg in a Monday statement that the 75-year-old Jagland’s hospitalization was “due to the strain arising in the wake of this case.”
Jagland, who previously held positions as secretary general of the Council of Europe and chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, is presently a central figure in the prominent Epstein investigation.
Information from the Epstein file disclosures indicates that Jagland might have resided at Epstein’s residences in Paris, New York, and Palm Beach during his leadership of the Council of Europe. Jagland, however, has refuted any criminal misconduct and asserts that he never set foot on Epstein’s private island.
At its own request, the Council of Europe recently removed Jagland’s immunity, which covered his decade-long service at the organization, thereby opening up the .
Searches of Jagland’s private homes have already been carried out by Norway’s economic crime authority. Bloomberg also reports that Norwegian diplomats Terje Rød-Larsen and his spouse, Mona Juul, are currently under police investigation.
Jagland is among several notable international individuals mentioned in the . While his legal representatives affirm his cooperation with authorities, they contend that there are no legitimate grounds for prosecution.
In a statement issued on February 11, Brosveet stated that Jagland “takes this matter very seriously, but wishes to emphasize that he believes there are no circumstances that constitute criminal liability.”
Jagland played a pivotal role in the decision to grant the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to then-President , a Democrat. As the newly appointed chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee at that time, the selection proved to be controversial.
Jagland was the main within the five-member committee. Despite initial skepticism from some members — considering Obama had been in office for under nine months and the nomination deadline was only 12 days post-inauguration — Jagland reportedly leveraged his influence to achieve a unanimous vote.
His argument was that the prize ought not merely to acknowledge past accomplishments but should serve to “strengthen” a leader’s continuous endeavors in global diplomacy.
Last fall, President criticized Obama’s 2009 Nobel Peace Prize while advocating for his own nomination for the award.
On October 9, Trump informed reporters in the Oval Office, “He got it for doing nothing.” He added, “Obama got a prize — he didn’t even know what [for] — he got elected, and they gave it to Obama for doing absolutely nothing but destroying our country.”