German opposition demands government probe into Epstein files

BERLIN

Germany's opposition Green Party on Tuesday called for the government to investigate recently released Jeffrey Epstein files for potential connections to German officials or citizens.

The demand follows the US Justice Department’s release of a massive cache of evidence—including more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images—detailing the late financier’s connections to global elites and politicians.

Green Party lawmaker Irene Mihalic criticized the German government’s current inaction, describing it as "dangerous ignorance" given the international scope of the scandal.

In an interview with the media group RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, Mihalic urged authorities to determine if German officials appear in the files and whether the records reveal evidence of human trafficking involving German citizens.

"This is not the time to sit around twiddling your thumbs and hoping that the worst will pass you by," Mihalic said. "Given the seriousness of the situation, the government should proactively and systematically evaluate the publicly available material.”

Sergey Lagodinsky, vice chairman of the Greens in the European Parliament, advocated for a broader European inquiry, stressing the need to evaluate the findings promptly, and to collaborate closely with international partners. "Where there is reliable evidence of cross-border crime, money laundering, or political influence, this cannot remain a purely national issue," he told Handelsblatt newspaper.

Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier with ties to powerful elites and politicians worldwide, was accused of sexually exploiting over a thousand underage girls and young women, and allegedly providing them to influential people. In 2019, he was discovered dead in his Manhattan detention cell while facing federal charges related to sex trafficking. Authorities concluded he took his own life.