Pressure on Andrew in court battle to block personal papers
THE names of hundreds of people allegedly linked to Jeffrey Epstein could be revealed in court documents, putting further pressure on the paedophile’s friend, Prince Andrew.
Ghislaine Maxwell is trying to block their release along with a 418-page deposition she made in a civil defamation case with the Duke’s teen sex accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Lawyers acting for Maxwell, a friend of Andrew, argue the documents, which are currently under seal, could be used to “promote public scandal” as they are “extremely personal”.
Her testimony was given during a deposition in which lawyers can ask highly intrusive questions into sex lives.
Included in the papers are 88 pages of reports compiled by police in Palm Beach, Florida, where Epstein had a home and carried out much of his abuse.
They also contain summaries of flight logs from Epstein’s private jet dubbed the Lolita Express. A previous manifest from his planes revealed Andrew had flown with him.
Christina Oxenberg, a former associate of Maxwell’s, claimed the socialite had wire-tapped the Lolita Express to use as leverage if she were arrested.
The Duke of York, 60, and his legal team have denied any wrongdoing and vehemently refuted Giuffre’s claims he had sex with her three times. Details of Maxwell’s lawyers’ attempt to keep the documents secret came as four women accused of supplying young girls for Epstein to abuse are facing investigation.
The FBI is looking at their alleged role in the paedophile’s sex-trafficking ring. They are claimed to have received salaries and bonuses for their parts in the operation.
The four women were originally given immunity from prosecution in a deal struck between Epstein and the US Attorney for South Florida in a 2008 criminal case. However, following Maxwell’s arrest, it has now raised the possibility that prosecutors in New York could bring separate charges not protected by the plea deal.