In the end there was nowhere left to hide, and there were no good options remaining. Since 2015, Prince Andrew has sought to discredit allegations of sexual abuse made against him by Virginia Giuffre, who claims that as a teenager she was repeatedly forced to sleep with him by the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The prince has repeatedly denied this and, in a car-crash interview with BBC Newsnight, said he had no recollection of ever meeting her. As the screws tightened and Ms Giuffre filed a civil damages claim last year, his lawyers accused her of seeking a “payday”, questioned her mental health and tried to have the lawsuit thrown out on technical grounds.

All in vain. But it was only when the Duke of York’s back was against the wall, and cross-examination under oath before a jury loomed, that he threw in the towel on Tuesday and settled. The amount to be paid by the prince remains undisclosed, but Ms Giuffre’s lawyers have previously suggested that it would need to be large enough to represent “a vindication” of her claim. The accompanying statement by both parties contains no admission of wrongdoing on Prince Andrew’s part, but the formerly dismissive prince recognises his accuser’s bravery in standing up for herself and her status as a victim of sexual abuse. He states that he never intended to malign her character. This was anything but a legal score-draw. The settlement represents a major victory for an abused young woman from a modest background. Ms Giuffre’s determination to hold the wealthy, powerful and connected to account for their actions has been spectacularly validated.

For Prince Andrew, on the other hand, it seems unlikely that this deal will deliver the kind of closure he must crave. Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit will not now cast a shadow over the Queen’s forthcoming platinum jubilee celebrations – a consideration which appears to have been a significant factor in the decision to settle. Future criminal charges are also rendered extremely unlikely. But the reputational damage to the monarch’s favourite son has been done. The damning verdict already delivered in the court of public opinion will only have been confirmed by Prince Andrew’s decision not to fight in an actual one.

From the sustained nature of the friendship with Epstein – which continued even after a warrant was issued for his arrest over trafficking allegations – to the initial haughty indifference to Ms Giuffre’s claims, the prince’s behaviour has been that of a man who believed himself too powerful and too protected to be brought down. In that he was mistaken, and this misplaced, tin-eared hauteur contributed to his fall. The royal family has, in effect, cut him loose; the military titles and royal patronages have already gone and will not be restored. A campaign is under way to remove the title of Duke of York. Rightly, there is no comeback to public life in prospect.

Prince Andrew’s future thus looks likely to play itself out in a purgatorial twilight, haunted by the grave allegations he chose not to refute in court. The terms of the settlement submitted to the New York judge, Lewis Kaplan, state that he will show his regret for his friendship with Epstein by supporting the fight against sex trafficking. But while the prince’s substantial donation to the charity set up by Ms Giuffre to support victims’ rights will be welcome, a more personal route to atonement is complicated by the fact that he has not admitted to any wrongdoing. The existential price of this settlement – more costly than the millions to be paid out to shut the case down – is a permanently stained reputation and a blocked path to public rehabilitation. It is a fate that Prince Andrew has brought upon himself.

The Guardian View 

L’article View on Prince Andrew: closure with no prospect of redemption est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

A US judge is to hear arguments by the Duke of York’s legal representatives to have the sexual assault civil lawsuit brought against him dismissed without trial in a crucial New York hearing.

Prince Andrew, 61, is being sued by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 38, for alleged sexual assault that she claims took place when she was aged 17 and had been trafficked by the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew’s legal team will on Tuesday argue before Judge Lewis Kaplan that the case is baseless and should be thrown out.

The hearing, by video teleconference, comes the day after a previously confidential 12-page document was made public disclosing the terms of a $500,000 settlement agreement in 2009 by Epstein to Giuffre.

The prince’s lawyers are expected to argue the agreement means Giuffre has relinquished any rights to sue anyone connected to Epstein who could be described as a “potential defendant”.

The settlement, which relates to a Florida state case to which the prince was not a party, states Giuffre agreed to “release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge” Epstein and “any other person or entity” who could have been included as a potential defendant.

Though the document does not mention Andrew by name, Andrew B Brettler, who represents Andrew, has said the settlement should end the lawsuit. Brettler previously told the New York court that the agreement “releases Prince Andrew and others from any purported liability arising from the claims Ms Giuffre asserted against Prince Andrew here”.

However, Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, argued the settlement was “irrelevant to the case against Prince Andrew”.

Giuffre is seeking unspecified damages claiming she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 and a minor under US law. The prince has denied all the allegations.

His legal team have described Giuffre’s claims as “baseless” and alleged she is seeking a “payday” at the royal’s expense.

Legal team will claim in critical New York hearing that case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre is baseless

Kaplan last week denied a motion from Andrew’s lawyers to halt the civil proceedings while the issue of where Giuffre lives is dealt with.

The crunch hearing comes one week after Andrew’s former friend Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, a sometime girlfriend of Epstein’s, was convicted of charges relating to recruiting and trafficking teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. Lawyers for Maxwell, who faces a lengthy prison sentence, plan to appeal.

It is not known if Kaplan will decide whether to dismiss Giuffre’s lawsuit on Tuesday or announce it at a later date.

Lawyers for Giuffre have requested documents as part of her litigation, such as proof of Andrew’s claim that he cannot sweat. Giuffre has claimed the duke was “sweating profusely all over me” at a London discotheque on a night when she alleges they had sex. Andrew said in his Newsnight interview the allegation could not be true “because I have a peculiar medical condition which is that I don’t sweat or I didn’t sweat at the time”.

The prince also maintained that on the day cited by Giuffre he took his daughter Beatrice to a late-afternoon children’s party at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking, Surrey. After that, he said, he was at home with his children all night.

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L’article Prince Andrew’s lawyers to urge judge to dismiss sexual assault lawsuit est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.