The Duke of York and his legal team have been trying to get their hands on a settlement made previously between Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew’s accuser, and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. In the settlement, Virginia agreed that she would not come after any of his associates, including ‘royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and/or other professional and personal acquaintances.’
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Getting off on a technicality
Earlier this month, Prince Andrew’s team was finally given access to the confidential documents and they think it will be the key to having the case dismissed. Given that no other member of the royal family has been linked to either Giuffre or Epstein, lawyers are planning to argue that the word ‘royalty,’ which was used in the settlement, only applied to Prince Andrew.
The Prince has been maintaining his innocence vehemently, but his lawyers have been working hard to drop the case before it heads into trial. According to The Telegraph, they’re hoping to either reach a settlement with the accuser or invalidate her claims using the simple ‘royalty’ technicality that was included in her agreement with Epstein.
Proving his innocence
Whether or not they will be successful is yet to be determined, however Giuffre’s lawyers believe that the settlement is irrelevant to her lawsuit against the Prince.
If the Prince is unable to use the settlement to dismiss the claims against him, he could be looking at a difficult trial ahead as evidence has already been piling up against him. During a BBC interview in 2019, he revealed that he had never met Giuffre before. But in 2011, The Mail had published a photograph in which the two were smiling and standing side by side. Furthermore, a witness, who allegedly saw the two together in a nightclub, has also confirmed that they will be testifying against the royal in court.
