Prince Andrew accusations left out of Epstein-Maxwell case

By DAVID B. CARUSO, JIM MUSTIAN and MICHAEL R. SISAK

NEW YORK (AP) — When Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell goes connected proceedings adjacent week, the accuser who captivated the nationalist most, with claims she was trafficked to Britain’s Prince Andrew and different salient men, won’t beryllium portion of the case.

U.S. prosecutors chose not to bring charges successful transportation with Virginia Giuffre, who says Epstein and Maxwell flew her astir the satellite erstwhile she was 17 and 18 for intersexual encounters with billionaires, politicians, royals and heads of state.

She isn’t expected to beryllium called arsenic a witnesser successful Maxwell’s trial, either.

Prosecutors volition absorption alternatively connected 4 different women who accidental they were recruited by Maxwell arsenic teenagers to beryllium abused by Epstein. None has alleged the benignant of maltreatment by almighty planetary figures that Giuffre has elaborate successful interviews and tribunal filings.

Bypassing Giuffre’s allegations astir Andrew volition support the astir explosive allegations against Maxwell retired of the trial, but it volition besides let prosecutors to debar a large risk.

Records, witnesses and photos backmost up galore parts of Giuffre’s relationship of her clip with Epstein, the financier who died by termination successful 2019 portion jailed up of his ain enactment trafficking trial. But Giuffre has acknowledged getting cardinal details incorrect successful her communicative implicit the years, including initially falsely saying successful a suit that she had been 15 erstwhile Epstein began to maltreatment her.

The men she’s accused person spent years attacking her credibility. Maxwell’s lawyers mightiness person tried to person immoderate of them testify.

Besides Andrew, Giuffre has said she was sexually trafficked to erstwhile New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, erstwhile U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, the noted lawyer Alan Dershowitz, the French modeling scout Jean Luc Brunel and the billionaire Glenn Dubin, among others.

All person said her accounts are fabricated.

David Weinstein, a erstwhile national authoritative who’s not progressive successful the case, said making Giuffre portion of the Maxwell lawsuit could person analyzable matters unnecessarily.

“There is nary crushed to springiness the defence thing to enactment with that tin sow the seeds of tenable doubt,” Weinstein said.

Giuffre’s lawyers declined an interrogation request, but she has stood by her allegations and repeatedly shown a willingness to spell into civilian tribunal to beryllium them, sitting successful depositions and assembling a ineligible squad that includes 1 of America’s astir influential lawyers, David Boies.

In a 2019 interrogation with Dateline NBC, she said inconsistencies successful her communicative were the guiltless mistakes of trying to callback events that happened years ago, erstwhile she was a traumatized teenager.

“When you are abused, you cognize your abuser,” she said. “I mightiness not person my dates right. I mightiness not person my times close … but I cognize their faces and I cognize what they’ve done to me.”

The Epstein ungraded burst into nationalist presumption successful 2005 erstwhile helium was arrested successful Florida, and accused of paying a 14-year-old miss for sex.

Police identified underage girls who were paid to execute enactment acts, but successful 2008 the probe was chopped short. Prosecutors allowed Epstein to plead blameworthy to a complaint of procuring a idiosyncratic nether 18 for prostitution. He served 13 months successful jail.

Dozens of women sued Epstein, but Giuffre’s 2009 suit was different. In it, she said Epstein pressured her into having enactment with galore men “including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and/or nonrecreational and idiosyncratic acquaintances.”

Giuffre didn’t initially place the men involved, but successful 2011 she took $160,000 from the Daily Mail for an interrogation successful which she described gathering Prince Andrew during a travel to London with Epstein successful 2001.

Giuffre provided the paper with a photograph of herself and Andrew unneurotic successful Maxwell’s London townhouse, his limb astir her bare midriff.

The British tabloid said Giuffre and Andrew danced unneurotic astatine a nightclub, but added determination was “no proposition that determination was immoderate intersexual interaction betwixt Virginia and Andrew, oregon that Andrew knew that Epstein paid her to person enactment with his friends.”

Years later, Giuffre’s lawyers insisted she told the Daily Mail she had enactment with Andrew, but the paper’s lawyers wouldn’t fto it people the claim.

She besides said successful a deposition that immoderate details successful the Daily Mail stories based connected her paid interviews were inaccurate, including parts successful which she described riding successful a chopper with Bill Clinton and flirting with Donald Trump. Those things hadn’t happened, she said, though she blamed those errors connected the reporter.

There is nary question that Giuffre was swept up successful Epstein’s world.

Witnesses, including the aviator who flew Epstein’s level and household staff, person said successful depositions that they saw her regularly with Maxwell and Epstein.

Records amusement Giuffre got her passport successful aboriginal 2001 for question to London and handwritten formation logs database a “Virginia” oregon a “Virginia Roberts” — Giuffre’s unmarried sanction — arsenic flying regularly connected Epstein’s jets. In May of 2001, Giuffre was photographed attending exemplary Naomi Campbell’s day enactment with Epstein successful St. Tropez, France.

In 2014, Giuffre joined a caller suit by Epstein victims and began identifying men she’d antecedently accused anonymously. It it, she besides claimed publically for the archetypal clip that she’d had enactment with Andrew 3 times: successful London during her 2001 trip, astatine Epstein’s New York mansion erstwhile she was 17 and successful the Virgin Islands erstwhile she was 18.

She said Maxwell facilitated the encounters arsenic a “madam.”

Giuffre’s relationship of spending clip with Andrew successful New York was backed up successful portion by Johanna Sjoberg, different Epstein accuser. In a deposition and an interview, she described an evening socializing with Giuffre, Maxwell, Epstein and Andrew successful which the prince enactment his manus connected her bosom portion they posed for a photograph with a puppet made of him for a TV show.

The Associated Press does not typically place radical who accidental they are victims of intersexual battle unless they determine to archer their stories publicly, arsenic Giuffre and Sjoberg person done.

U.S. authorities person expressed involvement successful Giuffre’s allegations. In 2011, FBI agents flew to Australia, wherever Giuffre was past living, to interrogation her astir the alleged abuse.

U.S. prosecutors person repeatedly asked Andrew if helium would taxable to questioning. Weeks earlier Maxwell’s apprehension past year, the then-U.S. lawyer for Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, issued a connection blasting Andrew for seeking to “falsely represent himself to the nationalist arsenic anxious and consenting to cooperate.”

The prince has promised cooperation, but ne'er made himself disposable to U.S. authorities.

If prosecutors brought transgression charges against Maxwell, Andrew, oregon anyone other based connected Giuffre’s allegations, she would apt beryllium confronted connected the basal astir inconsistencies successful her story.

For instance, successful her archetypal lawsuit, Giuffre wrongly said she was 15 erstwhile Maxwell archetypal spotted her moving arsenic a spa attendant astatine erstwhile President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago nine and hired her arsenic Epstein’s masseuse. In a memoir she explored selling to publishers, Giuffre described, successful detail, celebrating her 16th day astatine Epstein’s property successful the Virgin Islands.

But employment records aboriginal showed she hadn’t worked astatine Mar-a-Lago until the summertime she turned 17. Giuffre said she simply misremembered.

One of the men Giuffre accused, Dershowitz, is battling her successful court, calling her a “sworn liar.” That litigation is ongoing. Richardson and Mitchell person said they ne'er met her. Dubin says helium has formation records and different grounds proving her allegations against him are false.

Andrew, the 3rd kid of Queen Elizabeth II, has besides repeatedly denied Giuffre’s allegations, astir notably successful a 2019 interrogation with BBC Newsnight successful which helium said that portion helium socialized with Epstein, helium couldn’t callback ever gathering Giuffre and ne'er had enactment with her.

”I tin perfectly categorically archer you it ne'er happened,” helium said.

Andrew challenged Giuffre’s assertion that helium was sweating profusely arsenic they danced successful a nightclub by saying helium had a aesculapian information that made it intolerable for him to sweat.

Maxwell, successful depositions, has acknowledged knowing Giuffre but said her stories astir being sexually trafficked to aggregate men are lies.

While Andrew isn’t portion of Maxwell’s transgression case, Giuffre sued him this year, saying her encounters with him amounted to intersexual assault.

That lawsuit is pending, meaning it is imaginable Giuffre volition get her claims against the prince earlier a justice yet, adjacent if prosecutors are staying distant for now.

___

Associated Press writers Tom Hays successful New York and Danica Kirka successful London contributed to this report.