Child sexual abuse

Documents Suggest Prince Andrew Shared Confidential Reports With Epstein

Is Andrew's Epstein connection proof of royal impunity or is the condemnation just puritanical mob mentality?

FEB 9·Updated FEB 10

Documents Suggest Prince Andrew Shared Confidential Reports With Epstein

Story

Above: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in Windsor, England on Apr. 11, 2021. Image credit: Steve Parsons/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Facts

Emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice suggest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly forwarded confidential reports from official trade visits to Jeffrey Epstein in November 2010, just five minutes after receiving them from his special assistant Amit Patel.
The Telegraph
Daily Mirror
Reuters
On Christmas Eve 2010, Andrew allegedly sent Epstein a confidential briefing on investment opportunities in Afghanistan's Helmand Province reconstruction. Official guidance states trade envoys must maintain confidentiality over sensitive information even after their term ends.
The Sun
The Australian
Manchester Evening News
Andrew told BBC Newsnight in 2019 that he cut contact with Epstein in December 2010. However, on Feb. 9, 2011, he messaged Epstein about a private equity firm visit, saying he "thought of you" as Epstein was "looking for somewhere for money to go."
The Times (UK)
Metro UK
ITV News
Vince Cable, who served as business secretary at the time, told the BBC he was unaware Andrew had shared information about investment opportunities in Afghanistan before, stating it was the first he had heard of it.
ITV News
Metro UK
BBC News
This comes as William and Catherine issued their first statement on the scandal, with a Kensington Palace spokesperson saying the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations and their thoughts remain focused on the victims.
ABC News
The Times (UK)
Meanwhile, Andrew completed his planned moved out of Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate earlier this month and is now residing in a property on the King's Sandringham estate.
The National Newspaper
Manchester Evening News
The Australian

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's deep entanglement with Epstein — lobbying foreign states on his behalf, sharing confidential trade secrets and maintaining warm contact after Epstein's conviction — proves he believed himself untouchable. Parliament must end royal impunity by demanding he testify to investigators and reintroducing accountability over palace finances and activities.

guardian

Piers Morgan on X

Narrative B

The rush to condemn Andrew based on photographs and adult encounters reveals society's puritanical mob mentality, not criminality. Prostitution isn't pedophilia, and judging past behavior by today's ever-shifting moral standards threatens everyone. Without proven crimes, this pile-on amounts to virtue-signaling schadenfreude against a man who served his country.

The Telegraph