A week ago, the Morning Jolt noted the World Economic Forum was investigating CEO Børge Brende for his friendship with Epstein. “He denied knowing Epstein most recently in November but admitted to knowing him once the documents were released last week.”

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On February 17, “Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister, said in a statement that he had been completely ‘unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities.’”

Yesterday, the New York Times added another detail:

In March 2019, Mr. Epstein appears to have texted Mr. Brende a letter written by his lawyers that was published in The New York Times. In the letter, the lawyers refer to Mr. Epstein’s previous conviction and say that “the number of young women involved in the investigation has been vastly exaggerated,” among other claims. Mr. Brende appears to have replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

In March 2019, Mr. Epstein appears to have texted Mr. Brende a letter written by his lawyers that was published in The New York Times.

In the letter, the lawyers refer to Mr. Epstein’s previous conviction and say that “the number of young women involved in the investigation has been vastly exaggerated,” among other claims.

Mr. Brende appears to have replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

See, if Epstein texted you that he hadn’t abused as many women as the prosecutors claimed, that makes it really hard for us to believe you were “completely unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities.”

Also yesterday, World Economic Forum Co-Chairs André Hoffmann and Larry Fink announced that they were looking for a new president and CEO. They said in their released statement, “the independent review conducted by outside counsel has concluded. The findings stated that there were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.”

Brende himself announced concurrently, “After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum… I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions.”

Now, I know there are those who believe the consequences of the Department of Justice releasing more than 3 million documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein has turned into a witch hunt.

Your mileage may vary, but I find it a little strange that a high-profile institution’s president who has proven to have lied about his interactions with Epstein at least twice, insists he did nothing wrong, an outside independent review apparently verifies he did nothing wrong beyond what is publicly known, and then the high-profile institution’s president immediately resigns.

Keep in mind, outgoing World Economic Forum CEO Børge Brende is a different person from World Economic Forum founder and walking James Bond villain Klaus Schwab.

In 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported, “under Schwab’s decadeslong oversight, the Forum has allowed to fester an atmosphere hostile to women and Black people in its own workplace, according to internal complaints, email exchanges and interviews with dozens of current and former Forum employees and other people familiar with the Forum’s practices.” Schwab denied all accusations against him, but stepped down as chairman of the board of WEF in April 2025.

In July, the Journal reported an “internal probe at the World Economic Forum found that its founder Klaus Schwab engaged in a pattern of workplace misconduct over the past decade, including unauthorized spending by him and his wife, bullying behavior and inappropriate treatment of female staffers.”

© National Review