BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — Republic of Congo's President Denis Sassou N'guesso announced Thursday that he will run in the March 15 presidential election, possibly extending his decades-long hold on power in the Central African country.
The 82-year-old Sassou N'guesso made the announcement during a visit to an agricultural fair in Bambou Mingali, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the capital Brazzaville.
The president first came to power in the oil-producing country in 1979, and served until the 1992 election when he finished third. He then took hold of the country again as a militia leader after a four-month civil war in 1997, and has been at the helm ever since, winning four elections against a fragmented opposition.
Only the presidents of Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon have served more years on the African continent.
A 2015 referendum removed presidential term and age limits, allowing him to remain eligible for office.
As in previous elections, the president faces no major challenger. The Pan-African Union for Social Democracy, the main opposition party announced last week that it will not field a candidate. Sassou N'guesso is expected to face about a dozen lesser-known candidates.
Last month, the government announced that the presidential election will be held March 15, instead of the initially planned March 22. No explanation was given for the change of date.
More than 10 candidates have declared their intention to run, including independent Alexis Bongo and former rebel leader Frederic Bintsamou, known as Pastor Ntoumi.
The ruling Congolese Labor Party has already designated Sassou N'guesso as its candidate.
In Republic of Congo, the youth unemployment rate is about 42%, according to World Bank statistics. Despite being an oil-producing country, poverty is widespread in the nation of 5.61 million people, with only 15% of those living in rural areas having access to electricity.
FILE - President of Congo Denis Sassou N'Guesso addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 24, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)
Brad Karp, chairman of one of the country’s most prestigious law firms, has resigned from his position after the release of emails revealing his exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein, a high-profile departure in the fallout among those with ties to the late convicted sex offender.
A statement Wednesday from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison did not explicitly mention any connection Karp had with Epstein, whom the firm has said it never represented. But Karp, who will remain at the firm where he has practiced for 40 years and served as chairman since 2008, said “recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests" of Paul Weiss.
The Department of Justice last week released the largest batch of documents so far from its Epstein investigative files in compliance with a new law intended to reveal what the government knew about the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls, as well as his interactions with rich and powerful people.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before a House committee investigating Epstein after Republicans pressed for criminal contempt of Congress charges against them. Bill Clinton, like a number of other high-powered men including President Donald Trump, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Neither Trump nor Clinton has been credibly accused of wrongdoing in their interactions with the late financier.
The fallout has spread beyond the United States. A top official in Slovakia resigned after photos and emails revealed he had met with Epstein in the years after Epstein was released from jail, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued an apology for appointing an ambassador to Washington who had ties to Epstein.
Among the newly released documents was a July 22, 2015, email in which Karp thanked Epstein for hosting an evening that the lawyer said was “once in a lifetime” and one he would “never forget.” Epstein responded that Karp was “always welcome,” adding, "there are many many nights of unique talents. you will be invited often.”
Later that day, Epstein told Karp he wanted to connect him with Larry Summers, whom he described as “funny and warm.” Summers is a former treasury secretary and Harvard University president who has been ostracized from a number of organizations after Epstein files made public earlier showed his close relationship with Epstein.
In 2016, Karp was trying to help his son, who was interested in a film career, and reached out to Epstein in hopes of making a connection with Woody Allen. Karp's son sent several follow-up messages to Epstein, but it was not clear whether they connected further. In 2018, Karp was invited for dinner with Epstein. Karp said he could arrange to have a car outside to take him back to his office for a video call, before rejoining the dinner.
“Im easy,” Epstein, in suggesting arrangements. “I know you are,” Karp replied.
The messages between the two continued through the years.
In February 2019, Karp emailed with Epstein seeking advice on behalf of John Havens, the former Citigroup president who, according to Karp's message, needed “immediate help” before Haven's name came out in what turned out to be a Florida massage parlor investigation. Epstein also offered help finding a local lawyer for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft in the matter, with Karp suggesting Kraft needed “the best there is.”
Both Kraft and Havens were among 300 men accused of being patrons of massage parlors engaging in prostitution.
A month later, Karp was apparently reviewing a draft court filing in which Epstein's lawyers argued that his plea deal in a decade-old federal sex abuse investigation in Florida should not be reopened.
“The draft motion is in great shape. It’s overwhelmingly persuasive. Truly,” Karp wrote in a March 3, 2019, email to Epstein, according to documents published online by the Justice Department. “I particularly liked the argument that the ‘victims’ lied in wait and sat on their rights for their strategic advantage, knowing you were in prison, before they came forward."
Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in that case, spent 13 months in jail, paid settlements to victims and became a registered sex offender.
Paul Weiss was founded in 1875. The storied New York firm has advanced the cause of civil rights, handled the legal affairs of corporate power brokers and grown into a multibillion-dollar global enterprise.
In his return to the White House, Trump has sought to exercise retribution against firms whose lawyers have performed legal work with which he disagrees. Paul Weiss was among the targets. In March 2025, the Republican president issued an executive order threatening the suspension of security clearances for its attorneys as well as the termination of any federal contracts involving the firm.
That order noted that a former Paul Weiss attorney, Mark Pomerantz, had been a central player in an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office into Trump’s finances before Trump became president.
Karp was initially prepared to sue over the order, saying his firm “would not be able to survive a protracted dispute with the Administration.” Karp later cut a deal with Trump, saying that he did so to save the firm. The move was ridiculed by lawyers outside Paul Weiss, and more than 140 alums of the firm signed a letter assailing it as well.
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
This story has been corrected to reflect that the name of the law firm is Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, not Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton.
FILE - Demonstrators hold up signs the Paul Weiss law offices in New York on April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)
FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2014, file photo, lawyer Brad Karp leaves federal court in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
