Piers Morgan has weighed in on Prince Andrew’s sex abuse civil lawsuit saga in light of the announcement that the royal has demanded a jury trial in the case.
Underscoring that the “stakes are massive”, the former Good Morning Britain host went on Twitter to suggest that the Duke of York could not possibly “settle this case now” after such a vehement “denial of any wrongdoing and demand for a full trial”.
The embattled royal formally denied that the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein had “trafficked girls to him”, in court papers filed on Wednesday by his lawyers as part of “answer and affirmative defences” to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre’s civil complaint.
Referring to the likelihood that Prince Andrew might attempt to “settle” with Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked out by Epstein and his "madam" Ghislaine Maxwell to engage in sexual relations with Prince Andrew when she was 17, and a minor by US law, on three occasions, Morgan stated:
“If he does, he will be utterly humiliated. But the trial itself will have the same result if he loses.”
“Prince Andrew hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the complaint,” stated the 11-page document filed by the royal’s attorneys on Wednesday as of ongoing legal proceedings in Manhattan federal court.
The royal, forced to step down from public duties in November 2019 due to his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, "admits that he met Epstein in or around 1999" in the papers, but vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
According to the royal’s defence, there were a number of reasons why they believed the case against Prince Andrew should be thrown out. They cited the fact that Giuffre was a permanent resident of Australia, too much time having passed after the alleged misconduct, and “her own wrongful conduct" - an allegation that she had acted unethically related to the accusations.
The defence reiterated their claim that Giuffre’s 2009 settlement with Epstein shielded the royal from litigation. Earlier this month, Prince Andrew’s team failed to get the case dismissed using the settlement deal, with Judge Lewis Kaplan ruling on 12 January that the case could proceed.