Prince Andrew’s audience: settlement with Virginia Giuffre “remains an option”

Prince Andrew’s presence at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial was most keenly felt in a photograph in which he did not appear.

Government exhibit GX-347 showed a photo 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 during a trip the couple made to the Royal Mansion in 1999 as a guest of Prince Andrew.

It was among 19 images released to the jury of Epstein and Maxwell in exotic-looking places that seem very amorous that were found on CDs taken from a 2019 FBI raid on Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.

Bevan Hurley has the full story below.

Prince Andrew faces an uphill battle to have his sexual assault case dismissed, legal commentators say.

English lawyer David Allen Green wrote that Andrew’s lawyers would have to overcome “four hurdles” to convince a judge to dismiss the Virginia Giuffre civil case.

“To win, Andrew’s lawyers have to show that: the agreement as a whole can be constructed to cover it; the expression “potential defendant” should be interpreted as covering it; there is no rule of law / policy that prevents execution; he can impose it without privacy.

Mr Allen Green said on his Law and Policy blog that the 2009 settlement agreement between Jeffrey Epstein and Ms Giuffre, which Andrew’s lawyers claimed to absolve him of any responsibility, was far from clear.

“If Andrew – for reasons of residence / jurisdiction, or the facts alleged by Giuffre in the Florida case – was not capable of being a defendant in the Florida proceeding, then – in terms of construction – then he it’s hard for me to see how he can take advantage of the general release, â€he wrote.

“In essence: if Andrew could not have been jointly or severally liable for the tort action in the Florida jurisdiction, the general discharge may not apply. “

Virginia Giuffre’s name has been mentioned more than 200 times during the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell.

But despite being one of Maxwell’s most vocal and visible accusers, she was not called to testify.

The independents Oliver O’Connell explores why prosecutors did not ask Ms Giuffre to testify.

As a New York judge considers whether to allow Virginia Giuffre’s trial against Prince Andrew to proceed, lawyers for former royal partner Ghislaine Maxwell are trying to overturn her convictions.

Lawyer Christian Everdell told Judge Alison Nathan on Wednesday that a juror’s comments about being sexually abused presented “compelling grounds for a new trial.”

Read the full story here.

Such is the nature of the hereditary principle that at times less than ideal personalities arise in the line of royal succession or elsewhere as prominent members of the family; people whose sense of judgment can be problematic, to put it mildly, and cause problems.

It is human nature, indeed, that not all who are born in the house of Windsor are as careful and dedicated as, say, the Queen – genetics has its limits.

So what can we do with and about his turbulent second son, the Duke of York?

Read The independents editorial here.

Settlement remains an option available to Prince Andrew’s legal team should a judge decide Virginia Giuffre’s case should go to trial.

Insiders have suggested the option “remains on the table” if Judge Lewis Kaplan rejects the Prince’s legal team’s request that Ms Giuffre’s trial be dismissed at an early stage.

Potential gain for Ms Giuffre could be ‘at least’ several million pounds, reported The telegraph

Currently, the case remains at the “technicality†stage, which means that there are several other ways to get it closed.

These included a challenge to the jurisdiction of the court based on Ms Giuffre’s living in Australia or a summary judgment request.

What a day to be Judge Lewis Kaplan, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York – the man with the fate of Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Prince Andrew in his hands, and eyes of the world on him, written The independents Sean O’Grady.

He must decide whether the text and legal status of the settlement agreement Ms. Giuffre signed with Jeffrey Epstein in 2009 means that her civil claim for damages against Andrew is dismissed; or he may judge it to be irrelevant; or he can reserve judgment and order more “discovery” on the circumstances in which the text of the document was determined, and also have more time for some to have a considered opinion on the legal points.

It could mean Andrew has to make some sort of statement, but maybe that’s it. For the first time, Andrew’s lawyers would have gotten the better of the argument by demanding disclosure of the settlement agreement, and they would have significantly increased Andrew’s chances of seeing it rejected. His troubles would hardly be behind him, but they wouldn’t get much worse. May be.

Read Sean O’Grady’s Full Story for The voices of the independents section below.

BBC reporter Emily Maitlis took behind the scenes what she called a “jaw-dropping” interview she conducted with Prince Andrew in 2019.

It comes as a New York judge decides whether or not to allow Virginia Giuffre, the trafficked victim of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, to continue her civil action against the Duke of York.

In a BBC article published on Tuesday evening, the Newsnight The presenter explained how the prince told him in advance about some of the claims from the 2019 interview – including when he said he was unable to sweat.

The independents Laurie Churchman has the story.

Prince Andrew’s presence at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial was most keenly felt in a photograph in which he did not appear.

Government exhibit GX-347 showed a photo 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 during a trip the couple made to the Royal Mansion in 1999 as a guest of Prince Andrew.

It was among 19 images released to the jury of Epstein and Maxwell in exotic-looking places that seem very amorous that were found on CDs taken from a 2019 FBI raid on Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.

The independents Bevan Hurley has more.

Guests came from all over the world and from the highest ranks of society: celebrities, scientists and royalty such as Prince Andrew, landing in a private jet and then boarding a helicopter for the island. Its owner liked to call it “Little St Jeff”; the locals called it “the pedophile island”.

But what’s the truth about Little St James, the private 75-acre paradise in the U.S. Virgin Islands that billionaire sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein once called home?

The independents Io Dodds has the story.