Epstein victims want Andrew to testify before lawmakers

Former prince Andrew saw his reputation destroyed six years ago and became the butt of internet jokes when he gave a disastrous interview to the BBC about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Even as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US congressmen and lawyers representing Epstein’s victims demand that he tell investigators what he knows about Epstein and his network of rich and powerful friends, he is unlikely to take that risk again.

“If you take the Newsnight evidence as a precedent, then who knows what Andrew will say or how he will come across in a very, very hostile interrogation – much (more) hostile than what Emily Maitlis faced,” said Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law and monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London, referring to the 2019 BBC interview.

“It’s very difficult to understand that it was in Andrew’s best interest to do this voluntarily.”

Pressure for Andrew to testify has been mounting after recent documents from the US Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein revealed more unwelcome details about the connections between the two men.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents many of Epstein’s victims, said Monday that Andrew has a duty to provide any evidence that could help investigators understand how Epstein was able to abuse so many women for so long and who else might have been involved in his crimes.

But the last time Andrew tried to answer questions about his friendship with Epstein ended in disaster.

Following the interview with Maitlis in 2019, Andrew was criticized for making unbelievable statements about his ongoing contact with Epstein after the financier was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, and for his lack of empathy for the victims.

Last year, King George III. Charles stripped Andrew of his royal titles, including the right to be called a prince, as he sought to protect the monarchy from ongoing revelations about his younger brother’s relationship with Epstein that have tarnished the royal family for more than a decade. The former prince is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Andrew was also ordered to vacate Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle that had been his home for more than a decade.

Mark Stephens, a lawyer who handles international and complex cases at Howard Kennedy in London, said Mountbatten-Windsor had little to lose by ignoring calls for her to testify and that it would be difficult for U.S. authorities to force her to appear before Congress.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure and calls for him (to testify), but even if he gets there, even if he gives evidence, I don’t think it’s going to reveal anything meaningful,” Stephens said.

“I would certainly expect him to get the fifth privilege of not self-incrimination, as the Americans say. So beyond his own name, I don’t think he will answer any questions by coming forward or not.”

Documents released on Friday allege that Epstein tried to arrange a date between Mountbatten-Windsor and a “beautiful” 26-year-old Russian woman, and that the former prince asked Epstein to dinner at Buckingham Palace.

They also uncovered emails in which Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson described Epstein as a “legend” and “the brother I always wished for”.

The documents do not show that most of those named committed crimes; their appearance in the files reflects Epstein’s extremely broad reach.

Mountbatten-Windsor had previously been cautious about meeting with US officials.

After stepping down from royal duties in 2019, Mountbatten-Windsor said she was willing to assist “any appropriate law enforcement agency” in the investigation into Epstein.

But documents released last year showed how 10 months of negotiations between Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers and federal prosecutors failed to obtain her testimony.

The king’s brother’s lawyers ultimately rejected offers to have their client questioned directly by prosecutors, either in person or by video. They suggested that he give his answers in writing instead; This, they said, was perfectly acceptable in British courts.

Eventually, on September 23, 2020, prosecutors abandoned the idea of ​​securing a voluntary interview and said they planned to begin the formal process of requesting that the British courts take Andrew’s deposition under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the two countries. There is no indication that the meeting took place.

Although Mountbatten-Windsor said she knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes, documents released by the Ministry of Justice show she had at least some knowledge about the parties Epstein hosted and how he used young women to influence his network of rich, powerful friends, Allred told the BBC.

“He’s not the one who has to decide whether he knows anything that could help the investigation,” he said.

“I’m saying it’s not too late, and you have information that can help them.”