Monday, November 01, 2021

Prince Andrew’s Criticisms of Virginia Giuffre May Backfire, Lawyers Say

THE GUARDIAN: UK experts say accusing Giuffre of seeking a ‘payday’ at prince’s expense is risky

Prince Andrew has applied to have Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against him in the US dismissed. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty Images

THE GUARDIAN: UK experts say accusing Giuffre of seeking a ‘payday’ at prince’s expense is risky

Prince Andrew’s attacks on Virginia Giuffre’s character in an attempt to get her sexual assault lawsuit against him thrown out may fail and risk doing further damage to his reputation, British lawyers have said.

Having initially attempted to prevent service of the suit, which alleges that he sexually abused Giuffre when she was 17, the prince’s lawyers went on the offensive over the weekend in an attempt to get her “baseless” claim dismissed.

Their filings accuse Giuffre of seeking a “payday” at Andrew’s expense and contain references from friends and in newspaper articles to her being a “money hungry sex kitten” and recruiting girls for the convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in custody in 2019, awaiting trial.

At the same time they argue that a 2009 settlement agreement between Giuffre and Epstein, formerly a friend of Andrew, absolves the prince from responsibility, a notion rejected by Giuffre’s lawyer. » | Haroon Siddique, Legal affairs correspondent | Monday, November 1, 2021