In a significant development concerning the high-profile lawsuit involving Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz, Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer, has shared his views on the Duke of York's legal strategy. Speaking about the case, which saw Prince Andrew accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre, Dershowitz asserted that settling out of court in 2022 was a "terrible mistake" on Andrew's part.
Reflecting on the legal aspects of the case, Dershowitz argued that Prince Andrew had strong grounds to contest the accusations. "Even if everything they said about him was true, she was over the age of consent, she bragged to people about how wonderful it was, and to pay millions of dollars for that? A jury would never have come back that way," he stated in an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored. Dershowitz highlighted potential legal defenses, including questions of jurisdiction and the statute of limitations, suggesting that these could have led to a favorable outcome for Prince Andrew.
The issue reemerged following the unsealing of documents related to Epstein, which included references to Prince Andrew. These documents have reignited public interest in the allegations of Giuffre being trafficked to London, New York, and Epstein's private island to have sexual encounters with the Prince. Despite his settlement, Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations and has withdrawn from public life since his much-criticized interview with the BBC in 2019.
Dershowitz, who faced similar accusations from Giuffre but was later exonerated, emphasized the potential impact of a deposition on Prince Andrew's decision to settle. "I think he could have won the case on legal grounds but I suspect that he was concerned about what would happen during a deposition, not about necessarily the person who accused him, but about his whole life because depositions are wide open," Dershowitz commented.
Dershowitz's remarks also shed light on the broader implications of such settlements, particularly in high-profile cases. He suggested that decisions to settle are often made to avoid the exposure of personal details rather than an admission of guilt. "Often you settle cases, not because you're guilty of what you're charged, but because you don't want to admit other things that you've done," he explained.
The legal discourse surrounding Prince Andrew's case is part of a larger narrative linked to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. The unsealing of the documents has not only brought renewed scrutiny to Prince Andrew but also implicated other public figures, raising questions about the extent of Epstein's network and its impact.
