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Prince Andrew in ‘difficult situation’, says royal correspondent
Prince Andrew is awaiting a ruling on his bid to have Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault civil lawsuit against him thrown out of court.
Ms Giuffre filed the lawsuit alleging she was forced to have sex with Jeffrey Epstein’s friends – including the Duke of York – when she was 17.
Andrew denies all the allegations against him and says Ms Giuffre is seeking “another payday at his expense”.
It comes as prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking trial offered to drop separate perjury charges against the socialite.
In a letter to Judge Alison Nathan, prosecutors said victims wanted to avoid the ‘trauma’ of having to testify again and suggested she should be sentenced in three to four months.
Maxwell’s lawyers opposed setting a timetable, and said a juror’s post-trial revelations that he had been sexually abused was a “compelling basis” to overturn their client’s conviction and grant a new trial.
Last Tuesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would issue a ruling “pretty soon” on whether Ms Giuffre can pursue her civil case.
He is weighing up whether a 2009 settlement agreement between Epstein and Ms Giuffre affords Andrew protection from legal action.
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Show latest update 1641988236 Prince Andrew accuser’s settlement deal with Epstein made public ahead of royal’s court hearing
Details of a settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre that Prince Andrew’s lawyers believe will stop him facing a sex abuse lawsuit have been made public on the eve of a pivotal court hearing in the case against the royal.
A 2009 legal document unsealed by a New York court on Monday revealed Ms Giuffre was paid $500,000 (￡370,000) to settle her claims against the late paedophile financier, a former friend of the Duke of York.
The 12-page deal shows Ms Giuffre agreed to “release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge” Epstein and “any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant”.
Bevan Hurley has more:
Prince Andrew accuser’s settlement with Jeffrey Epstein made public Key document in the Duke of York’s civil case released by New York judge
Eleanor Sly 12 January 2022 11:50
1641983769 Prince Andrew ‘rushing through sale of ￡17m Swiss chalet’ as legal bills spiral
Prince Andrew is reportedly attempting to rush through the sale of his ￡17m Swiss chalet as the bills mount in his legal battle against Virginia Giuffre.
The Duke of York is waiting for a US judge to decide whether to dismiss Ms Giuffre’s civil case against him.
Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit alleges she was forced to have sex with Jeffrey Epstein’s friends when she was 17, including the Duke of York, who denies the claims.
Chiara Giordano writes:
Prince Andrew ‘rushing through sale of ￡17m Swiss chalet’ as legal bills spiral Duke of York waiting for US judge to decide whether to dismiss sex abuse civil case against him
Eleanor Sly 12 January 2022 10:36
1641979285 Why didn’t Virginia Giuffre testify at Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial?
She stands in the middle in one of the most notorious photographs at the centre of the sex-trafficking allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell — which is something considering the trove of pictures released during the British socialite’s trial.
In the photo, to her left, Maxwell leans against the side of a doorway, to her right stands Prince Andrew, Duke of York, with his arm around her waist.
She was also mentioned numerous times on nearly every day of Maxwell’s trial - which ended in convictions on five charges. So why didn’t Virginia Giuffre testify?
Oliver O’Connell has more:
Why didn’t Virginia Giuffre testify at Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial? Could her presence have overcomplicated the case against Maxwell?
Eleanor Sly 12 January 2022 09:21
1641976073 Who is Virginia Giuffre and what are her allegations against Prince Andrew?
A woman who claims she was sex trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein is mounting a civil lawsuit accusing Prince Andrew of sexual assault.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 38, filed her suit against the Duke of York in the Southern District Court of New York in August under the state’s Child Victims Act.
The suit alleges Prince Andrew sexually abused Ms Giuffre as a teenager on multiple occasions in London, Manhattan, and the US Virgin Islands in 2001 - allegations which he denies.
Megan Sheets reports:
What are the allegations in Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against Prince Andrew? Giuffre alleges she was trafficked to the Duke by his friend Jeffrey Epstein in 2001
Eleanor Sly 12 January 2022 08:27
1641971177 Prince Andrew could be stripped of royal title if he loses case
Prince Andrew could be asked to give up his ‘Duke of York’ title if he loses a lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Giuffre.
According to The Sunday Times, royal courtiers are in discussions about what to do if Andrew loses the civil suit launched by Ms Giuffre in September 2021, which alleges that she was forced to have sex with the duke three times while she was being abused by Epstein.
Kate Ng has more.
Prince Andrew could be stripped of title if he loses sex case, reports say Prince Andrew could lose title
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 12 January 2022 07:06
1641969434 Queen likely to pay part of potential settlement
The Queen might be asked to contribute significantly if Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre move towards a settlement.
The Queen has been paying her son’s legal bills with the annual income from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate, “which recently increased by ￡1.5 million to more than ￡23 million,” The Telegraph reported.
According to an earlier report, she agreed to pay for her son’s legal defence shortly after his car crash Newsnight interview, where he addressed his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 12 January 2022 06:37
1641965223 What can be done about the Queen’s turbulent second son?
Such is the nature of the hereditary principle that, sometimes, less than ideal personalities pop up in the line of royal succession or elsewhere as prominent members of the family; people whose sense of judgement can be problematic, to put it mildly, and cause trouble.
Such is human nature, indeed, that not everyone who happens to be born into the House of Windsor is as cautious and dutiful as, say, the Queen – genetics has its limits. What, then, can be done with and about her turbulent second son, the Duke of York?
Read The Independent’s editorial here.
Editorial: What can be done about the Queen’s turbulent second son, the Duke of York? Editorial: Such is human nature that not everyone who happens to be born into the House of Windsor is as cautious and dutiful as, say, Her Majesty – genetics has its limits
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 12 January 2022 05:27
1641960923 Prosecutors offer to drop Ghislaine Maxwell perjury charges if she is not granted retrial
Prosecutors are prepared to dismiss two perjury charges against Ghislaine Maxwell if she is not granted a retrial in her sex-trafficking case.
In a letter to US District Judge Alison Nathan on Monday night, prosecutors said dropping the perjury counts would reflect the victims’ “significant interests in bringing closure to this matter and avoiding the trauma of testifying again”.
They also asked the Manhattan judge to sentence Maxwell within about three to four months.
Lawyers for Maxwell oppose setting any timetable, believing one juror’s post-trial revelations about having been sexually abused was a “compelling basis” to overturn their client’s conviction and grant a new trial.
The Independent’s Chiara Gordino has the story.
Prosecutors offer to drop Maxwell perjury charges if she is not granted retrial Victims want to avoid the ‘trauma’ of having to testify again, Assistant US Attorneys say
Bevan Hurley 12 January 2022 04:15
1641958223 What were the duke’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein?
Prince Andrew’s presence in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial was most keenly felt in a photograph he didn’t appear in.
Government exhibit GX-347 showed a picture of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein on a porch bench in the grounds of the Queen’s Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands.
The photo was taken on a trip the pair took to the royal manor in 1999 as the guest of Prince Andrew.
It was among 19 images released to the jury of Epstein and Maxwell in exotic locations appearing to be very much in love that were found on CDs taken from a 2019 FBI raid on Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley looks at their relationship with the prince.
What were Prince Andrew’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein? Prince Andrew may have hoped to avoid further embarrassment during Maxwell’s trial, but a single image reminded the world of his intimate ties to the socialite and Epstein
Bevan Hurley 12 January 2022 03:30
1641955523 ICYMI: Emily Maitlis says Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview was ‘jaw-dropping’
BBC journalist Emily Maitlis has given a behind-the-scenes account of what she called a “jaw-dropping” interview she conducted with Prince Andrew in 2019.
It comes as a New York judge decides whether to allow Virginia Giuffre, the trafficking victim of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, to pursue her civil case against the Duke of York.
The Independent’s Laurie Churchman reports.
Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview was ‘jaw-dropping’, says presenter Emily Maitlis Journalist says astonishing question and answer session on flagship BBC show now feels ‘deadly serious’
Bevan Hurley 12 January 2022 02:45
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