The national security adviser to Slovakia's prime minister has resigned after documents released by the US showed he exchanged messages about girls and diplomacy with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Robert Fico announced he had accepted Miroslav Lajčák's departure in a video message on Saturday, describing the adviser as 'an incredible source of experience in diplomacy and foreign policy'.
The resignation comes a day after three million files relating to the influential financier were released by the US Department of Justice. While the files do not show any wrongdoing on the part of those featured, including Lajčák, they have raised renewed questions for those who associated with Epstein.
In a text exchange from October 2018 - when Lajčák was serving as Slovakia's foreign minister - Lajčák and Epstein were seen lightheartedly discussing women and a forthcoming meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Later on in the conversation, Epstein implores Lajčák to ask Lavrov to get him a t-shirt featuring Lavrov and Vitaly Churkin, a Russian ambassador to the UN who had died the previous year.
Lajčák initially denied discussing women with Epstein when the files were released, but later reportedly cited the desire to avoid political damage as a reason for his resignation. Fico characterized the outrage in Slovakia over Lajčák's association with Epstein as 'an attack against me', highlighting a larger discourse about hypocrisy in political criticism.
The released documents offer new insights about Epstein's relationships with notable figures, as the implications of his associations continue to unfold.
