How An Email From Ghislaine Maxwell May Have Destroyed Prince Andrew's Defense Against Virginia Giuffre
Is this why Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre decided on a settlement?
Chris Allan / Shutterstock / YouTube / Florida Southern District Court Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre have reached an out-of-court settlement in her sexual abuse lawsuit against him but not before a leaked email from Ghislaine Maxwell delivered a damaging blow to the Royal's defense.
A month and a half after Maxwell was found guilty on five out of six charges that included the enticement and trafficking of individuals under the age of 17, she may have played an unknowing role in incriminating her longtime friend, Prince Andrew.
An email from Ghislaine Maxwell may have disrupted Prince Andrew's defense against Virginia Giuffre.
The 61-year-old prince’s defense was largely riding on the claim that an infamous image of him, Maxwell and a 17-year-old Giuffre from 2001 was some sort of forgery.
The prince, who denies ever meeting Giuffre had argued that the image was edited somehow to implicate him in a crime.
A leaked email from Maxwell, the prince’s friend, convicted sex trafficker and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, confirmed that the image was likely authentic and that the duke could not argue against the claims.
The photograph, said to be taken in Maxwell's London townhouse in 2001, was being questioned by Prince Andrew and his team. Just this week they had asked Giuffre to turn over the original photograph, trying to call her bluff.
Giuffre’s legal team responded that the original copy of the photograph was with the FBI and that she had misplaced a CD that contained a copy of the original.
Ghislaine Maxwell said the photo of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre 'looks real.'
In an email obtained by the Daily Mail, Epstein’s former lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, contacted Maxwell about the photo.
On January 10, 2015, Dershowitz wrote to Maxwell, “Dear G. Do you know whether the photo of Andrew and Virginia is real? You are in the background.”
To which she replied 11 minutes later with, “It looks real. I think it is. Warmly, G.”
Days earlier to this exchange, Giuffre revealed for the first time in court papers that she had been forced into sexual activities with both Prince Andrew and Dershowitz, making the timing of this exchange important.
The allegation had been struck out by a judge who deemed it impertinent, but it had already caused panic in Prince Andrew, who contacted Maxwell regarding information on Giuffre.
Dershowitz denied the claims and was given immunity according to a civil settlement Giuffre reached with Epstein back in 2009 but is still being sued by Giuffre for defamation.
After the email from Maxwell leaked, Giuffre and Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement agreement in which he would pay her a sum that is undisclosed to dismiss the accusations and would also donate a sizeable amount of money to her charity in support of victims' rights.
Part of the statement in the letter reads, “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
The letter was submitted to US Judge Lewis A Kaplan, and the case would be thrown out within the next 30 days.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.