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AP File
Prince Andrew's links to convicted pedophile and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, pictured above in May 2005, have been making headlines in the U.K.
by Anne Thompson, NBC News correspondent
In London, the talk is not of the upcoming royal wedding, but rather about Prince Andrew's choice of friends. Specifically, his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire and convicted pedophile.
Epstein served 13 months in jail beginning in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution and is a registered sex offender in the state of New York.
Now he is front page news in the U.K., pushing the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton aside.
The most cursory Google search tells you Epstein is bad news. His interest in underage girls has made him a staple of Gawker.com.
Yet The Daily Telegraph reports Thursday that he got what's described as "unusual" permission to land his private jet last December at an RAF fighter base.
Where was Epstein headed? He was on his way to visit Prince Andrew at Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate. Logs obtained by The Daily Telegraph show Epstein was accompanied by his close friend Ghislane Maxwell, a woman named Kelly Spamm, someone listed as "ET" and thought to be Maxwell's assistant Emily Taylor, Tom Pritzker, and an unnamed “female."
The Telegraph reports that in several civil lawsuits brought by Epstein's U.S. victims, they claim he broke American laws by using his fleet of private planes to take underage girls across state and international borders for sex.
Sex slave allegation
The paper has a picture of Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts, who claims she was one of Epstein's sex slaves. There is no evidence that Andrew had any sexual contact with Epstein's girls.
The relationship between the Prince and the pedophile goes back many years, long before Epstein was convicted of his sex crime.
Under the headline of "Princesses and the Paedo" (in Britain, pedophile is spelled paedophile), the Daily Mirror reports Epstein briefly met Andrew's daughters in Nassau in 1998. At the time, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice were nine and eight.
Andrew is not a do-nothing royal. He is a special representative for U.K. international trade and investment.
His use of public funds has changed the tabloid moniker of his youth "Randy Andy" to "Air Miles Andy."
In recent days, Andrew's meeting with Moammar Gadhafi, his ties to Gadhafi's son Saif, the purchase of his home for $4.8 million over the asking price by one of Kazakhstan's richest men, and his links to nations with histories of human rights violations have all come under fire.
Those stories have raised the questions about whether the Prince's influence can be bought. Last year, Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson — famous for her own money problems as well as her Weight Watchers commercials — was taped offering to sell access to the Prince to a reporter posing as a businessman.
But nothing matches the ire raised over his friendship with Epstein. Ferguson is apologizing for accepting Epstein's offer to pay $24,000 to a former aide. The Prince is promising to cut ties with Epstein.
Yet, it is doing little to quell the furor. He may be royal by blood but increasingly the evidence shows that when it comes to judgment of friends, this prince is just plumb dumb.
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Nothing that family does surprises anyone anymore. And they dare to call Kate "common!!" She'd be lucky to run NOW!!
Time to do away with these free loaders. The public should no longer carry this weight on their backs with their hard earned money. These free loaders should be out earning their own living. If anything, they should be paying hefty taxes into public coffers and also be donating more to the public that have suffered by their hands for many hundreds of years.
drushalli,
I completely and totally agree. It's amazing what those who have power, high economic class, and money can get away with. If it were someone "common" they would be feeling the full brunt of they're decision. What is probably even more disgusting is that most of the British Royal family actually have no real political power. They are nothing more than glorified mascots of a time when the "sun rose and set on the british empire".
If he has been having sex with underage girls the US should prosecute him in absencia and put a warrant out for his arrest.
I think those under age prostitutes should be punished severly for causing a good boy to go bad. Any man the falls into the trap of an under age temptress is asking for big trouble, but then some of the little girls are not so innocent. I'm not talking about very young girls but the ones that are close to 18 and already have carnal knowledge.
Under what jurisdiction? The world has made it clear that they do not need the U.S. policing it.
Wait - what?!?
Punish the under-age prostitutes? For tempting the "good boys" to go bad? Lemme guess ... you've had a few run-ins with prostitots yourself, haven't you?
Agreed. They are so willing to prosecute Assange what happened to laws being equal for all. Yeah, I know these are different countries but in a World where economies are being mixed maybe it is about time straighten out some laws, especially pedophile and sexual slavery laws. This epstein guy will NEVER see jail time because of his money and connections. Bah!!!
Excuse me, dirty dog. Exactly WHO is responsible in cases of statutory rape (which is defined as sexual relations with a person who has not reached the statutory age of consent)? Any so-called "good boy" who is involved in that type of situation should certainly be able to face the consequences of his actions.
How many people did not read the sentence that said he served 13 months in prison for his crimes?
I guess a couple people did not accurately read my comment. It was slightly tongue in cheek. I did say it was wrong to sexually assault and underage person. My point was, that it is a one sided law. Underage folks know they're underage. They know statutory rape is illegal but it take two to tango. Underage people are charged with illegal use of alcohol but not charged with illegal use of their personal units. Know what I mean?
Dirtydog200 - I don't think there are many here who remember those idiotic commercials from the 60's and 70's about "not helping a good boy go bad." To the best of my recollection those commercials were mostly about car theft anyway and did not do anything to deter the crime or crimes. If a person is a "good boy" he's not going to go bad anyway.
Police also arrest underage prostitutes but in a short time they are back on the streets again plying their trade. That the fact is, if he is engaging in sex with a person below the age of consent he should go to jail and it should be for a lot longer than 13 months.
The Old Hawk,
I also agree. A man of considerable age should know to cover his ass by at least attempting to be sure that he is not engaging in sex with a minor. It is disgusting, and while it is true that many prostitutes may be just as guilty, that does not excuse the adult in that situation. The damage, and or trauma that could and usually is inflicted on the child can be massive.
I tend to doubt that the guy just drives around kidnapping underaged girls and whisking them off in his private jet to boff them. That's something that involves money and parents.
Here's what really got my attention: "the purchase of [Prince Andrew's] home for $4.8 million over the asking price by one of Kazakhstan's richest men." [emphasis added] What was the asking price??? And, even more curious, someone in Kazakhstan has MORE than $4.8 million dollars? I didn't figure there was that much money in the whole country of Kazakhstan. . . Opium business must be goooood.
why not? the richest man in the world is in mexico.
Miker,
do your research and not ass u me like typical westerner. There is plenty oil in Kazakhstan as well as other natural resources, combined, potentially theu could exceed Saudia. Opium is just cheap icicng on the cake.
I guess now we know why Andrew's marrage to Fergie failed. She was too old.
Can you say “White Trash”?
I don't really care about British royalty. I am an American and an egalitarian, I bow to no one.
If Epstein is a convicted pedophile, keep him out of the country. If he enters the country, lock him up and deport him.
Actually we should keep him in the country for 90 days and tax him to the eyebrows......He's one of the rich guys that avoids paying taxes! ( then we should lock him up at guantanamo. lol
arrest him, send him to the courthouse, when he's found guilty throw away the key. Hey Prince Andrew, you should be putting him in handcuffs not meeting with him as a friend.
Kings and Queens or Royalty are parasites that live on taxpayer money. Get rid of them like we did in the USA.
Ideal hands do devils work. That's any and all Royals period.
I think he means idle hands. Otherwise, he's spot on.
Wait, is that an underage girl in the background waiting for him? I love the news.
Her features are similar... daughter perhaps.
The royal family have their uses but Andy is a well known wrongun and should be "retired" asap. When people say they should be got rid of in reality they are fairly harmless, don't wield any real power and they provide good exposure for England and they sure sell a lot of hotel rooms and t-shirts in London. The issue is maybe that people outside England take them too seriously and elevate them to a level they aren't actually at based on stories of how Kings and Queens used to be many moons ago.
Couldn't happen to a worse Royal Family. Didn't we kick these asshats out back in the AWI and again in 1812? Why are people caring about these descendants of thugs and murderers? Even the British are sick of them.
They also fail to mention in this article that Prince Andrew got Epstein to help pay off Sarah Ferguson's debts. Andrew and Sarah really need to watch their friends. This isn't the first time that Andrew's gotten himself into a pickle because of his business relationships. I really have started to think that Andrew isn't as white as Sarah claimed in that video.
How old were these girls? How can it be pedophile with a 17 year old when age of consent is 16 or were there younger ones? And how did he get them to other countries without passports were the parents complicit if so they should be charged too.
Members of the royal family have always exercised bad judgment, greed and bad taste. Most members of the royal family are sloth and their only claim to fame is being born to the manor. Sarah is a social parasite and a discredit not only to the royal family but to womanhood in general. Epstein paid her debts off at the request of Andrew. After Queen E, their titles should be abolished, the royal family should surrender their right to the crown and members of the family should work for their living like everyone else.
There has ALWAYS been one standard of justice for the wealthy and powerful and another for the poor and common man.
Epstein is a conservative republican by the way....just saying. Now I'm going to sit back and read all the BS replies from the right...how dare I judge blah blah blah....
Another saga in the lives of billionaires and their royal friends. Now we know where all of our stolen money went!!
Why isn't the creep in jail?
Why does the UK cling to anachronistic royalty?
We also know why Diana & Charles' marriage failed. She thought rulers had 12 inches.
One only has to go back in history to find out that there is a little bit of everything in that bloodline. Judgment is lacking all around. I agree with you Anne the Prince is not acting intelligent.
hi there andrew show me your friends and iwill tell you who you are a prince or not no one is above the law it sounds to me you guys have a lot in common
Problem in America is we are filling our prisons with pot smokers and smack addicts while real criminals get off with 13 month sentences, and for epstein a placard that means nothing to him. Why does he still have money and power? These should have been stripped from him and returned to the people. I bet he couldn't become a billionare twice.
As far as The Monarchy goes, that was Americas shining moment in foriegn policy.
i like the prince and palper,but this,royal blood involved is this mess,real good hind sight,hehehhahahehhee, go figure