PARIS, France (AFP) — Veteran French politician Jack Lang, a former minister, was forced out of a key cultural post Saturday as pressure grew on him over revelations in the latest release of the Epstein files.
He offered to resign in a letter to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who told reporters he planned to launch the process to name an interim president for the IMA.
But Lang continued to insist he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Lang, who has headed the Arab World Institute (IMA) since 2013, is the most high-profile public figure in France caught up in the latest release of private messages from the convicted sex offender.
“I offer to submit my resignation” at the next board meeting, the 86-year-old wrote in the letter, seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP). As recently as Wednesday, he had ruled out stepping down from his post over the affair.
Lang had been summoned to the foreign ministry for a meeting on Sunday but that has now been cancelled, said a source at the ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lang’s lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told broadcaster BFM TV his client was “very sad” to be leaving an institution he loved so much but also “extremely combative and will not let slander gain ground.”
On Friday, French prosecutors said they had opened a preliminary investigation of him and his daughter Caroline over “laundering of aggravated tax-fraud proceeds” after they were mentioned in files related to Epstein.
‘Baseless’ accusations
Earlier Saturday, before news of his resignation emerged, Lang told AFP that the accusations against him were “baseless” and he welcomed the probe.
“It will bring much light on to the accusations that are questioning my probity and my honor,” said Lang, whose name appears more than 670 times in the released documents.
He has denied any wrong-doing, saying he was “shocked” that his name appeared in the statutes of the offshore company in 2016 and that he had only appealed to Epstein as a philanthropist.
His daughter Caroline, a film producer, also appeared in Epstein’s will as a beneficiary of five million euros, according to investigative website Mediapart.
She has already resigned from her job as head of the Union of Independent Producers (SPI), which represents independent film producers in France.
A mere mention in the files does not imply wrongdoing.