Prince Andrew 'fails to cooperate' with FBI

[CathyorClaire]

www.thesun.co.uk/news/10832298/prince-andrew-provides-zero-cooperation-after-fbi-ask-to-interview-him-over-epstein-links/

No surprise there, then.

Do we think he'll hold out for the threatened subpoena or will the renewed public spotlight mean he jumps before he's pushed?

I didn’t know JE bailed Fergie out. I have no words….

Am I just being naive here? WHY ON EARTH would someone like JE bail Fergie out?
More to the point, was PA just being naive? or fucking stupid.

Yet Sarah Ferguson has been on prime time tv describing Andrew as a thoroughly decent kind man.

Just as a general point, and I am no Prince Andrew apologist, but I don’t find it that hard to believe that 40-something Prince Andrew was not self- reflective about a much younger woman wanting to sleep with him. He had been HRH Prince Andrew his whole life, known as the “Hot Prince”, Falklands War hero and man about town. He had previously had relationships/flings with a Hollywood starlet, a Playboy model and a well-known model. His sense of entitlement when it came to seeing himself as attractive to women must have been off the scale. And….to be brutally honest, it probably wasn’t misplaced. A rich, privileged man, even one on his 40/ who could loose a few pounds, will not be short of female company, generally, if they wish it. See for example Kitty Spencer’s new husband. Or Bernie Ecclestone. Or Flavio Briatore. Or king Juan Carlos of Spain. I could go on…

Anyway, when I take that into account and wonder if Prince Andrew could reasonably have believed this woman was choosing to sleep with him of her own free will, I don’t find it unbelievable that he did. If he did, then he has likely done nothing (provably) wrong, unless she or the FBI can establish he thought otherwise. Not an easy case to make.

(I also recall when this was first in the press Virginia said that she slept with him willingly, though of course that consent was undermined by her trafficking by Epstein/Maxwell. The £10,000 question was whether Andrew knew about all that. I don’t of course know whether she still says this).

Hendricks
Sarah F owed money to her Agent or someone over in US. It was about $79,000. Andrew or her went to Epstein for help and he re-negotiated it down to $15,000 and then paid it off for her.

SarahF had plenty of contact with JE. And she spent time in the NY mansion of JE. There are photos of her with Epstein's staff, taken whilst JE was under house arrest after his first conviction for trafficking and sex with underage girls.

But he was 41 and she was 17. If that's all it is, and he didn't know about all the other young girls or the trafficking hmmm not sure about that ... well... what a revolting man he is.

WHY ON EARTH would someone like JE bail Fergie out?

Because the alternative would have been for Andrew to use his own money? (Or more likely mummy's, but maybe he'd shaken that tree a bit too hard - or maybe, if mummy thought it was for Sarah, he wouldn't have got it?)

Anyway FWIW it's the Telegraph who broke the story in 2011, reporting that £15k was involved and it was paid over just after Andrew's NY visit

And it gives a snake like Epstein a hold over two members of the RF. He must have been delighted to pay off her debt.

And it gives a snake like Epstein a hold over two members of the RF

Precisely

I feel Serenster writes a lot of sense about the practicalities of all this, but so much of the RF's role - or what passes for one - boils down to how things look, and this could hardly look worse if it was smeared in sh1t and had a slug draped round its neck

Which may be thought to describe Andrew quite well ...

Oh yes, as I said in an earlier post, I think he’s clearly a sleaze with terrible judgment, and that’s the absolute best case scenario here for him! No matter the outcome here I don’t think any public rehabilitation is possible or indeed warranted.

I have a professional interest in how the legalities play out here, and a bias towards all individuals, no matter who, receiving a fair process, but as I said, I am no apologist for his actions.

@CallmeHendricks

How come no one's going after the other big names as well (Clinton/Gates etc)? Is PA considered an easy target?

I wondered that. Why only Prince Andrew?

It's not only PA. And VG has never said she had sex with either of them.

More will come out in the court case in November.

I have never understood Fergie's £15K bail-out.

It literally could have fallen out of her ex-husband's back pocket and not been missed at the time let alone now when he's inexplicably driving an expensively resprayed £200K Bentley that's less than a year old.

I agree. But as Epstein re-negotiated the debt down from $79,000 to $15,000, I imagine Epstein just paid it off. And PA and SF didn't complain.

She said she was very grateful at the time. Obviously that changed.

Epstein wanted them to be indebted to him. He collected people who he saw as influential from across the globe. In order to help him cover up his depravities and get away with it

@OverByYer

Epstein wanted them to be indebted to him. He collected people who he saw as influential from across the globe. In order to help him cover up his depravities and get away with it

Hasn't someone else on this thread, earlier on, implied that Epstein collected influential people who could be blackmailed later on, if not directly, then in an indirect way?

Yes of course.
Every room in every one of his properties had CCTV all linked into an operation room with a full time person managing that.
Now whether that was for his perversions or for blackmail...who knows

That is precisely what he did and is how people like him operate; either that or they impress some prominent folk so well with their charm, bonhomie, intellectual prowess (even 'kindness'), etc, so nasty scandal seems impossible to believe and the prom. folk give them a character reference.

Sheesh. I wonder sometimes if it is best not to trust anybody. You never know what lurks beneath the surface.

@Roussette

Yes of course. Every room in every one of his properties had CCTV all linked into an operation room with a full time person managing that. Now whether that was for his perversions or for blackmail...who knows

I’d say both

I wondered that. Why only Prince Andrew?

He's probably the softest yet most high profile target. I think Royals live too much in the public eye to be truly powerful or "dangerous" in the same way that businessmen or politicians are. Gates and Clinton are far more influential especially in the US. Andrew has no clout at all in the US and it's possible that other associates of Epstein are supporting and protecting VR in the case so the spotlight is kept away from them. It would be also fascinating to see what Maxwell has to say. Can't imagine she has anything to gain now by protecting him.

Aside from his blood relation to the Queen, Andrew is basically nobody. He'll be in deep shit once her majesty passes because there won't be anyone with his true best interests at heart. Charles may only attempt to protect him to preserve the image of the Monarchy.

Charles may only attempt to protect him to preserve the image of the Monarchy

Or maybe to protect himself?
After all Andrew's been around the family a fair while and might be expected to know more than most ...

Serenster, I agree with what you said. Prince Andrew was considered to be very attractive at one time, and well liked. I doubt Virginia Giuffre would have known much about him, being an American and him not being as prominent as his older brother and sister, however she said she was excited about meeting a prince and wanted a photograph taken of herself with him, to sent to her family. We've all seen the photo which was taken with her camera, at Ghislane Maxwell's home. When she talked about this, it seemed to be the only time she had been with him; later on, two other occasions, not in England, were mentioned.

I doubt it would have crossed Prince Andrew's mind that she was trafficked.

Nobody apart from those involved knows the truth about this. Maybe we never will but I hope we eventually do; then a line can be drawn under it and people can direct their interest to more wholesome topics. At the moment there's an unhealthy preoccupation with the entire seedy business.

Ghislane Maxwell's trial will be interesting. I don't know how she will be able to explain her actions apart from the fact she was besotted with Epstein at that time. It seems that a lot of people were in different ways, he was so powerful.

Given the queens record for dealing with past family crises I think she will come through let’s give her a chance.

Nobody apart from those involved knows the truth about this. Maybe we never will but I hope we eventually do; then a line can be drawn under it and people can direct their interest to more wholesome topics. At the moment there's an unhealthy preoccupation with the entire seedy business

You are sounding a tad like the Queen there... let's brush this nasty unwholesome seedy business under the carpet. What does 'drawing a line under it' mean? How will that work for the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, do you think they can draw a line under it?

I don't want this 'seedy business' to go away. I want the victims to have a voice. They'e had some of their voice taken away from them because Epstein took the cowards way out, but for them, I want this to roll on and on, and them to get some sort of healing and justice. If you think this will go away for PA, you're mistaken. The end of November onwards will be a long drawn out difficult time when the trial starts.

Given the queens record for dealing with past family crises I think she will come through let’s give her a chance

What... like... ignore it all and hope it goes away?

It won't.

No the queen is not stupid she has probably got the wheels in motion hiring top lawyers etc to try and sort it out with the same dignity she has always shown.