First, more revelations from a civil lawsuit claiming the prince had sex with a minor. Next, the sentence of Ghislaine Maxwell. It is not a very happy new year.
In August 2019, after convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein died in custody while awaiting further criminal charges, I wrote about the dangers that awaited his royal friend, Prince Andrew: “Prince Andrew has surely known that the Damocles sword it was suspended over his head by that famous horsehair. You enjoy the great lifestyle and power inherent in being the son of Queen Elizabeth II, but you must be aware of the precariousness of your position. And now that thread is seriously fraying. It’s all due to their own actions. ”
The first week of 2022 may be when that sword falls a little lower.
For months, she has been fighting a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claims Epstein forced her to have sex with the prince when she was 17 years old. Child Victims Act, which gives greater legal options to the abused as long as you are under 18 years of age.
About January 4th Prince and Giuffre’s lawyers will appear before District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York. The royal lawyers want the case dismissed, arguing, among other things, that Giuffre was on the Age of consent (17) in New York when the alleged sexual assault occurred.
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Andrew appears to have little evidence to bolster his own defenses that he did not know Giuffre, was at a birthday party at Pizza Hut when she claims they supposedly met on one occasion in London, and has a medical condition that calls into question his account. . IIn a presentation dated Dec. 30, Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, was scathing: “Based on his discovery responses, Prince Andrew has apparently already determined that he has no documents that answer most of the [Giuffre’s] requests. If Prince Andrew really has no documents regarding his communications with Maxwell or Epstein, his trip to Florida, New York, or various locations in London, his alleged medical inability to sweat, or anything to support the alibis he gave during his BBC interview then further discovery will not be burdensome at all. “
There was a possible ray of good news for Andrew orn Jan 3, When a confidential agreement since 2009 bThe etween Epstein and Giuffre was released by the US district judge overseeing Giuffre’s lawsuit against the queen’s second son. (as well as the judge in charge of a related legal action between Giuffre and another of Epstein’s Friends, American law professor Alan Dershowitz, whom he has also accused of sexual assault).
Settlement, which awarded Giuffre US $ 500,000, asserts that Giuffre (then known as Virginia Roberts) “hereby exempts, releases, acquits, satisfies, and forever releases said Second Parties and any other person or entity that may have been included as Potential Defendant (“Other Potential Defendants”) of any and all actions and actions of Virginia Roberts, including state or federal causes and causes of action (common or statutory law), lawsuits, debts, fees, sums of money, accounts , accounts, bonds, invoices “. Prince Andrew’s lawyers argue that the phraseology in that agreement it means that Giuffre gave up his right to sue the prince.
Whether or not this is the case, it continues to generate bad headlines for him around the world.
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Meanwhile, the judge overseeing the criminal case involving Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of procuring and grooming sexual victims for Epstein, and who was a close friend of Andrew, asked lawyers involved in that case for Maxwell’s sentencing schedule to be submitted by January 10. One way for the 60-year-old Maxwell to reduce his sentence may be to offer damaging evidence against Epstein’s famous friends, including the prince.
Whatever the final results of this week’s legal proceedings, the damage to “Prince Andrew, Duke of York, aka Andrew Albert Christian Edward, in his personal capacity,” as identified in US legal documents, is incalculable. More than two years have passed since the interview he gave to the BBC. about her relationship with Epstein caused a boomerang in the prince, forcing him to stop make any official commitment on behalf of your mother. The pressure only intensifies with each new reveal, including photos from Maxwell’s trial of her and Epstein having fun as Andrew’s guests on the queen’s private Balmoral estate.
Over the weekend, British newspapers were filled with warnings about his fate, especially if he loses the civil suit. Options being released include throwing him into “exile,” which could means losing your right to use the title of “Duke of York” and renounces his last remaining patronages, including military titles.
As plain your friends and allies keep pulling roads for him return to public life (the last one consists of resuscitating his entrepreneurial project, Pitch @ Palace) that seems almost impossible. Even if Giuffre loses his lawsuit, Prince Andrew has already lost in the court of public opinion. There is simply no going back from that.
Reference-www.macleans.ca