The Devil’s Guest List: Epstein’s Bill Comes Due

By Cliff Potts, CSO and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — February 27, 2026 (Dispatch from London)

I’ve dispatched our man in London—let’s call him Carl, because why not?—to cover a Twiggy look-alike contest. You know, the kind where skinny models parade around pretending it’s 1966 all over again. Harmless fluff. Or it was supposed to be.

Then the Epstein files coughed up another lungful of smoke.

Prince Andrew—sorry, former Prince, now just Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor—gets hauled in by the coppers. Not for tea and crumpets. For questioning on misconduct tied to his old pal Jeffrey.

Carl’s there, dodging rain and bad coffee, watching the fallout. He wires back: “This ain’t no monster under the bed. It’s the devil calling in favors.”

He’s right. The Epstein files aren’t a horror show with fangs. They’re a ledger. And five names just got circled in red.

The Royal Reckoning

First up: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Once a prince, now a punchline. Arrested February 19th on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Epstein’s island jaunts, flights on the Lolita Express—it’s all there in the logs. He spent 12 hours in a room with detectives, then walked out. For now.

But Carl says the hellhounds are sniffing. Those supernatural debt collectors don’t care about titles. Andrew bet on Epstein’s hospitality. The bill’s due. And Buckingham Palace can’t pay it in apologies.

Officials call it “ongoing.” Carl calls it overdue.

The Norwegian Knot

Thorbjørn Jagland, ex-Prime Minister of Norway and bigwig at the Council of Europe. Charged with aggravated corruption. Gifts, travel, loans from Epstein. He denies it, of course. “Nothing improper,” his lawyer probably says.

Nothing improper about pocketing from a sex trafficker? Carl chuckles over his telegram: “Deals with the devil always start with a handshake.”

Jagland’s insulation is cracking. Hellhounds don’t read denials. They just collect.

Then there’s Terje Rød-Larsen, former Norwegian diplomat and UN hotshot. Under investigation for complicity in gross corruption. A personal loan from Epstein, donations to his outfit. Smells like quid pro quo.

His wife, Mona Juul, another diplomat, is in the same boat. Suspected gross corruption via her foreign affairs gigs and Epstein links. Økokrim—the Norwegian economic crime squad—is on it.

Family affair? Carl wires: “Double deal with the devil. Hellhounds love a two-for-one.”

The British Shadow

Peter Mandelson, former UK Ambassador to the US and Labour Party fixture. Under probe for leaking confidential info during his tenure. Payments and Epstein ties under the microscope.

Mandelson was always the smooth operator. Now he’s sweating. Carl spots him in London fog, looking over his shoulder.

“Devil’s bargain,” Carl notes. “You dance, you pay the piper. Or the hounds.”

The Persistent Ledger

These five aren’t monsters. They’re suits. Politicians, diplomats, royals who thought Epstein was just a rich eccentric with a private jet.

Wrong bet.

The files keep leaking. Not exploding—eroding. Borders crossed, treaties yawned, but now jurisdictions are waking up.

UK studies Norway. Norway eyes the UK. Everyone’s “reviewing.”

Carl’s take: “Hellhounds don’t review. They reap.”

The devil’s guest list is long. These five are just the appetizers. More names will surface. More deals will come due.

I lack nuance, they say. What I lack is sympathy for the devil’s debtors.

The hounds are coming. Tick-tock.