Prince Andrew's Arrest

Across the pond in Britain, accountability is a serious matter

“Today our broken hearts have lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” — Virginia Giuffre’s family

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother to Britain’s King Charles, has been arrested on charges of suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

This is the most significant story involving British royalty since King Edward VIII abdicated his throne in 1936 — and the first arrest of a royal since King Charles I, who was detained in 1647 during the English Civil War. That’s four centuries ago.

Andrew, whose 66th birthday is today, was been taken into custody about 8 a.m. local time, 3 a.m. EST.

His arrest comes just four days after the Daily Mail reported that he passed on sensitive information about the taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland to Epstein when he was representing the UK as a trade envoy.

Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act revealed that Andrew leaked details he learned from meeting with bank executives in the wake of a $45 billion bailout.

Andrew also allegedly passed on other sensitive information he learned to a banker friend, according to the Telegraph.

Andrew’s association with Epstein has captured the attention of the British media for years. But in recent weeks, the scandal evolved into possible financial wrongdoing, first involving Lord Mandelson, the British ambassador to the United States, who resigned. The backlash has also put pressure on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. A member of the Scottish Labour party asked Starmer to resign over Mendelson’s appointment, but thus far, he appears to have survived the scandal.

Interestingly, Andrew’s arrest is not concerning the 2011 sexual assault allegations that were brought against him by Virginia Giuffre — but it was recent stories in the British media about him passing on financial information to what the British press called “his pedo mate.” (Epstein)

It’s astonishing how much accountability seems to be possible once you cross the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, neither the U.S. Justice Department or the Treasury Department seems to have made an effort to “follow the money” involving some of Epstein’s friends and associates.

Remember, Sen. Ron Wyden — who has been investigating Epstein’s finances for years — has hit a wall because President Trump’s Treasury Department hasn’t cooperated with his probe.

GOP leaders also seem to have their heads in the sand.

Why didn’t the DOJ investigate Epstein and his associates’ suspected money laundering? Isn’t it clear that banks were ignoring all the flags that pointed to him?

This story is bigger than politics; it is a global scandal with implications beyond the 21-page Powerpoint presentation the FBI put together on the case in July.

And now, we have the arrest of a former member of the Royal family.

While Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein, his relationship with the Epstein has dogged the Royal family for a decade since Giuffre first went public with allegations that she was trafficked to the Prince when she was 17.

Giuffre, who died in April, first told her story to Daily Mail reporter Sharon Churcher in 2011.

Ms Giuffre wrote in her recent memoir, Nobody’s Girl, that on the day she met Andrew in 2001, Epstein’s partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, told her “just like Cinderella, I was going to meet a handsome prince.”

A photograph that was taken at the time — of Giuffre and the Prince — one that Andrew claimed might have been doctored — has come to symbolize the scandal in Britain.

Andrew had been friends with Epstein since 1999 and continued even after Epstein was charged with solicitation of a minor in 2007. In 2010, he was photographed walking with Epstein in New York.

In 2019, Andrew gave a widely criticized interview with the BBC’s Newsnight, denying Giuffre’s allegations.

Giuffre later sued Andrew, and the case was settled with a payment, said to be about $10 million. Andrew did not admit liability as part of the settlement.

As more revelations came to light over the past few years, Andrew was stripped of his military titles, then last year, his royal titles were officially removed by King Charles.

Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York wanted to interview Andrew about Epstein in 2020 as part of their broader probe into Epstein’s associates, but he declined to cooperate.

Late last year, members of the House Oversight Committee wrote to Andrew (whose name was changed to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor) requesting a transcript of an interview about Epstein. However, the lawmakers had no power to force him to comply.

Andrew is the third person linked to Epstein to be arrested. One of his co-conspirators, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, was arrested in December 2020 on charges of rape of minors and sex trafficking. He died by suicide in a Paris jail while awaiting trial. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021.

Last week, Norway’s former Prime Minister, Thorbjorn Jagland, was arrested on corruption charges in connection with information Norwegian authorities found in the Epstein files pertaining to his relationship with the disgraced financier and sex trafficker.

Never in a million years did I think when I resurrected the Epstein story in 2018 it would lead to this.

JKB

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