Secret Giuffre deal revealed, but protection in question

Prince Andrew’s claims that he’s shielded from legal liability by a secret settlement signed by his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, and Jeffrey Epstein were called into question Monday after the deal was made public.

The 2009 agreement, in which Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000, was ordered unsealed by two New York federal judges who are presiding over her suit against the embattled royal and a separate suit she filed against attorney Alan Dershowitz. Both have denied the claims against them.

Attorneys for the Duke of York have argued that Epstein’s deal with Giuffre covered the prince against a potential lawsuit because she claimed she was trafficked to “royalty” in her original suit against Epstein.

Royal bumble

“Because Prince Andrew is a senior member of the British royal family, he falls into one of the expressly identified categories of persons, i.e., royalty, released from liability under the Release Agreement, along with politicians, academicians, businessmen, and others allegedly associated with Epstein,” Andrew’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, wrote in his Oct. 29 motion to dismiss.

But the release agreement made public Monday does not mention royalty, politicians or businessmen — rather only “other potential defendants” that could be released from liability under its terms.

The agreement releases “any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant (‘Other Potential Defendants’) from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts, including State or Federal, cause and causes of action,” according to the terms.

David Boies, an attorney for Giuffre, said that the deal is irrelevant to the civil suit his client filed against Andrew last year.

“As we have said from the beginning, the release is irrelevant to Ms. Giuffre’s claim against Prince Andrew. The release does not mention Prince Andrew. He did not even know about it,” Boies said in the statement Monday.

“He could not have been a ‘potential defendant’ in the settled case against Jeffrey Epstein both because he was not subject to jurisdiction in Florida and because the Florida case involved federal claims to which he was not a part,” he added.

Other associates of Epstein have argued that the confidential release agreement blocks Giuffre from taking legal action against them.

‘Against her will’

Giuffre sued Andrew in Manhattan, claiming she was forced to have sex with him at least three times, in London, New York and on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.

In one instance, Ghislaine