London — It is a crucial week for Britain's Prince Andrew as he tries to keep away from the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein intercourse abuse scandal. Simply days after the conviction of Epstein's affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell, a New York choose was anticipated on Monday to unseal a confidential settlement that Andrew's legal professionals say may defend him from a civil sexual abuse lawsuit. The prince's attorneys name the lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre baseless. Choose Lewis Kaplan ordered the phrases of a 2009 settlement between Epstein and Roberts Giuffre to be made public by Monday. Andrew's legal professionals say that settlement shields the prince and others from lawsuits by Roberts Giuffre, and so they hope the choose will take it as ample grounds to dismiss her go well with in opposition to the royal. The courtroom will hear oral arguments on Tuesday over whether or not to throw out the go well with. As CBS Information international correspondent Holly Williams studies, with the prospect of a authorized battle hanging over him, Prince Andrew has stored a particularly low profile. On Christmas Day at Windsor Fort, as different members of Britain's royal household went to church, the queen's second son was nowhere to be seen. Tarnished by his friendship with convicted youngster intercourse offenders Epstein and Maxwell, a latest ballot reveals the prince is now preferred by simply 6% of the British public. Andrew now not performs royal duties. Former tabloid editor Kelvin McKenzie advised CBS Information that the prince has been "pushed proper to the facet" — primarily advised by his household that he is now not "representing something." McKenzie, the previous editor of The Solar tabloid, stated that if the lawsuit in opposition to Prince Andrew does go forward, the media protection might be a royal embarrassment. "It will likely be past stunning," he advised Williams. "He might be slaughtered." Roberts Giuffre filed go well with in August final 12 months claiming sexual abuse by the hands of the British royal, saying she was trafficked to Prince Andrew for intercourse by Epstein and Maxwell when she was 17 years outdated — a minor underneath U.S. regulation. She stated final 12 months that the prince "needs to be panicking. He is aware of he is responsible." "He must be held accountable," she advised CBS Mornings' co-host Gayle King in July 2020. "We have to present the world that the wealthy and the mighty can fall too." The prince denies all of the accusations in opposition to him and says he has no recollection of ever even assembly Roberts Giuffre. He has by no means been charged with any felony offense. However as authorized analyst Joe Tamburino defined to CBS Information, within the civil go well with introduced by Roberts Giuffre, demanding unspecified monetary damages, the usual of proof could be decrease than in a felony case. "If she proves greater than 50%, she wins. If she does not show greater than 50% she loses," Tamburino stated. If the trial goes forward, the prince faces having to offer deposition for the U.S. courtroom, that means he must give sworn testimony in relation to the allegations in opposition to him for the primary time. Ghislaine Maxwell might be referred to as as a witness, and an lawyer for Roberts Giuffre has stated in addition they need to depose Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. "Does she [Meghan] have any factual info of being a part of — even briefly — the royal household, and have any info on Prince Andrew; how he acted, what he was like, the place he was at sure occasions, so on and so forth," stated Tamburino. All of it holds the prospect of much more soiled royal laundry to return. The prince introduced Epstein into the guts of the royal household. The New Yorker even appeared at Andrew's daughter's 18th birthday costume occasion, alongside Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein. The prince tried to clarify his conduct in a 2019 BBC interview, throughout which he provided justification for staying at Epstein's New York mansion after his good friend had been imprisoned on youngster intercourse costs. "You had been staying on the home of a convicted intercourse offender," the interviewer put to him. "It was a handy place to remain," the prince replied. McKenzie, the previous editor of The Solar, believes that whatever the final result of the lawsuit introduced by Roberts Giuffre, the prince's repute won't ever get better. "If the tabloids had been the jury, he'd be doing 10 years by now," McKenzie advised CBS Information. "That is the reality."
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