If there’s a way to avoid worldwide excoriation in the press, Britain's Prince Andrew didn’t get the memo. Breaking his silence with BBC News, the Duke of York attempted to explain his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein...and why it continued after Epstein’s sex crime conviction.
In an interview with the BBC, he says he realizes he ‘let the Royal Family down’ by associating with Epstein after he was convicted of sex crimes involving minors – and when asked why he went to Epstein’s New York home...he said it was to “end the friendship honorably” and that he stayed in Epstein’s home “because it was convenient.”
During the interview, which aired in Britain Saturday night, Andrew also denied allegations from Virginia Guiffre, who says Epstein forced her to have sex with the royal when she was underage. The interview has been widely panned as “disastrous.”
Andrew claims he doesn't remember ever meeting although a photo seemingly shows him embracing her in his London home. To that end, he says there’s “no proof” that the photo hasn’t been tampered with.
To review, after Epstein served two years for soliciting sex from an underage girl, Prince Andrew continued to stay in his properties and see Epstein "once or twice a year." He claims he never witnessed any of the criminal behavior Epstein has been accused of. The Prince says he feels tremendous sympathy for the victims and he realizes now how wrong and regrettable it was to continue the friendship.
Will ABC finally be made to pay the piper? As we told you before, ABC newswoman Amy Robach was captured on tape saying she had “everything” on Epstein three years ago, but that the network killed the piece. While the network has walked things back saying they didn’t have enough to go on, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has now reached out to ABC saying they want to see what Robach collected. Megyn Kelly has taken to Instagram to reveal that McCarthy sent a letter to ABC looking for Robach’s information on the story.
At the end of the day, Andrew's got one supporter - his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. She took to Twitter on Friday to extol the virtues of her former spouse, calling him a "a true+real gentleman and is stoically steadfast to not only his duty but also his kindness + goodness."
Source: BBC News
Photo Credit: Getty Images