Bombshell emails show Prince Andrew may have been in regular contact with Epstein after claiming he cut ties with paedo | The Sun
PRINCE Andrew may have lied about his continued friendship with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as bombshell emails appear to show they kept in regular contact.
Newly released court documents allegedly show The Duke of York engaging with and making plans with Epstein despite telling Emily Maitlis he had cut all contact with the financier.
The new documents cast doubt on Prince Andrew's former assurances that he severed ties with Epstein following his 2008 conviction for soliciting and producing an underage girl for prostitution.
It's not known if Epstein was lying in the email exchanges and possibly touting the prince's name without his knowledge.
The Duke, 63, told Emily Maitlis during his car crash 2019 Newsnight interview that he had only met the paedophile once in December 2010 following his conviction.
The royal claimed their dubious meeting in New York was to "show leadership" and to end their relationship in person, stating he only stayed at his mansion as it was "convenient".
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He confirmed to the former BBC presenter that except for that meeting he had "no contact" with the disgraced financier after his conviction.
However the new emails – released as part of the US Virgin Island's civil case against JP Morgan – contradict his claim, reports The Telegraph.
They paint a damning picture that suggests the shamed Duke never cut ties with the convicted sex offender and that their relationship continued after Epstein's sentencing in 2008.
Court documents note there have appears to have been contact between Epstein and Andrew on a "number of occasions".
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Epstein wrote to the Duke on April 15, 2010: "jes staley will be in london on thurs the 22 i think you should meet if you are in town."
The email references former JP Morgan boss Jes Staley and seems to suggest Prince Andrew acted as an intermediary between the banking boss and Epstein.
Epstein wrote to Staley on August 29: "andrew will call tim, if you give me the numbers".
On September 2, he sent him another email that stated: "About to connect with Andrew."
On February 28, 2011, months after Andrew claimed all contact he had been cut off, the paedophile wrote: "Andrew asked for your London schedule."
Another email shows they were conversing in the days before the Duke was photographed at Epstein's Manhattan mansion at what he claimed was their final meeting.
And emails dated to June 2009 appear to show Epstein urging Staley to contact Andrew.
"Ask Andrew about the island, tell him about your boat plans, " writes the sex fiend.
The court documents note the messages show both men appear to be in contact with the Duke.
During the infamous Newsnight interview, the disgraced royal told Maitlis: "I ceased all contact with [Epstein] after I was aware that he was under investigation and that was later in 2006 and I wasn't in touch with him again until 2010."
When she asked him if there had been any contact, he again stated: "No contact."
Maitlis added: "Did you see or speak to him again?". Andrew said: "No."
The new court documents allege the Duke also met with the paedophile while he was under house arrest at his Florida home in June 2010.
An email sent by Epstein to a banker on June 14 read: "Andrew just sat next to me at dinner."
Police in Florida began investigating Epstein in 2006, before he was jailed for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Epstein was 66 when he was found dead in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
He had pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing dozens of girls, some as young as 14 years old.
Prince Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing in the Epstein scandal but he settled a civil sex assault case last year.
The settlement spared him a humiliating court battle with Virginia Giuffre over claims he raped and abused her when she was 17.
Prince Andrew's representatives have been reached for comment.
In the ongoing civilcase, JP Morgan argued it was the US Virgin Islands, not the bank, that enabled Epstein to commit his crimes.
Lawyers for the bank said the government of the Virgin Islands was complicit – letting high ranking officials be bought off by Epstein and work with him while "reaping the benefits of his wealth".
They wrote: "He gave them money, advice, influence, and favours. In exchange, they shielded and even rewarded him."
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The lawyers said officials from the islands "protected Epstein, fostering the perfect conditions for Epstein’s criminal conduct to continue undetected".
A woman known as Jane Doe has also filed a case against JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank – claiming both institutions ignored Epstein's operation in exchange for him bringing in wealthy clients for them.
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