Former Prince Andrew pictured laying across laps | Political News

A new photograph of a man showing to be Andrew Mountabatten-Windsor, launched in the mass publication of Jeffrey Epstein case recordsdata, exhibits him mendacity across the laps of 4 girls, with Epstein affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell standing behind him.

The former prince is dressed in a snappy black swimsuit and bowtie, a smile on his face. He is not trying at the digital camera as the black-and-white shot is snapped.

The faces of the 4 girls are redacted.

The Mountbatten-Windsor has confronted years of scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein. He was stripped of his royal titles a few months in the past as a outcome of undisclosed contact with the disgraced financier, who killed himself in prison in 2019.

The former prince has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has said he didn’t “see, witness or suspect any behavior of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.”

The Justice Department launched 1000’s of recordsdata Friday from its investigation into convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein even as it acknowledged that its paperwork disclosure about the rich financier, identified for his connections to President Donald Trump and other influential people, was incomplete.

The information arrived with public anticipation that they may offer the most detailed look yet at practically twenty years price of authorities investigations into Epstein’s inappropriate abuse of younger girls and underage women. But it remained unclear how a lot substantive new info was included in the photographs, call logs, grand jury testimony and interview transcripts, or how a lot if any extra insight may be gleaned about Epstein’s relationships with wealthy and highly effective contacts.

The recordsdata have been being launched in accordance with a congressionally set deadline of Friday, but the Justice Department signaled that it will not totally meet that mark, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche telling Fox News Channel that he anticipated the division to release “several hundred thousand” information Friday and then a number of hundred thousand more in the approaching weeks.

Their release has long been demanded by a public hungry to be taught whether or not any of Epstein’s wealthy and highly effective associates knew about — or participated in — the abuse. Epstein’s accusers have also long sought solutions about why federal authorities shut down their initial investigation into the allegations in 2008.

Bowing to political stress from fellow Republicans, Trump on Nov. 19 signed a invoice giving the Justice Department 30 days to release most of its recordsdata and communications associated to Epstein, including info about the investigation into his death in a federal jail. The law’s passage was a exceptional show of bipartisanship that overcame months of opposition from Trump and Republican management.

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What the law permits

That law permits for redactions about the victims or ongoing investigations but makes clear no information shall be withheld or redacted due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Nov. 14 that she had ordered a top federal prosecutor to examine Epstein’s ties to Trump’s political foes, including former President Bill Clinton. Bondi acted after Trump pressed for such an inquiry, though he didn’t clarify what supposed crimes he wished the Justice Department to examine. None of the boys Trump talked about in a social media post demanding the investigation has been accused of inappropriate misconduct by any of Epstein’s victims.

In July, Trump dismissed some of his own supporters as “weaklings” for falling for “the Jeffrey Epstein hoax.” But both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., failed to forestall the laws from coming to a vote.

Trump did a U-turn on the recordsdata once it grew to become clear that congressional motion was inevitable. He insisted that the Epstein matter had develop into a distraction to the Republican agenda and that releasing the information was the best manner to transfer on.