The Latest On Prince Andrew - He Only Has Bad Options, And Is Considering The Worst One
Calling Kevin Spacey To Testify On Behalf Of Prince Andrew Would Be Beyond Ridiculous
As I have previously written, at this point there are no good options for Prince Andrew in his defense of the lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre Roberts accusing him of sexual assault. His motion to dismiss was denied. Discovery is moving forward. He will have to sit for a deposition to be taken by David Boies — the master of taking depositions. There are no obvious off ramps between now and trial.
As of Saturday morning, I could not imagine how Prince Andrew would make things worse for himself. That only proved that I did not have a broad enough imagination.
On Saturday morning, I was interviewed by Times (London) Radio about the Prince Andrew case. The host, Ayesha Hazarika, asked me to comment on reports that Prince Andrew planned to call the disgraced actor Kevin Spacey to testify that Kevin Spacey (not Prince Andrew) was responsible for bringing Ghislaine Maxwell to Buckingham Palace in 2002. I was taken aback, because I had not heard of such a thing. It struck me as the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. I spoke bluntly, saying that it would be “beyond ridiculous” to call Kevin Spacey to testify on behalf of Prince Andrew.
It turns out that the British press has widely reported that Prince Andrew is the “mastermind” behind the idea of calling Kevin Spacey as a witness on Prince Andrew’s behalf. According to these stories, Prince Andrew believes that the allegation that he was close friends with Ghislaine Maxwell and that he was responsible for Maxwell being in Buckingham Palace are “at the center” of the evidence against him:
The insider added: “The snaps go right to the centre of the claims against Andrew, and an image of Ghislaine Maxwell in the most private space within Buckingham Palace looks very damning.
“But if Kevin can convince a jury he was the crucial link with Ghislaine, rather than Andrew, it distances the Prince from her somewhat — and that’s crucial.
“Andrew also believes such a gifted actor and public speaker could be a very compelling asset in front of a jury.”
If this story is accurate, it demonstrates complete lack of understanding on the part of Prince Andrew.
Pictures of Ghislaine Maxwell in Buckingham Palace are not at the “centre of the claims against Andrew” - the accusation that Prince Andrew raped Virginia Giuffre Roberts are at the core of the claims against Prince Andrew.
There is one picture that Prince Andrew must contend with, and it is this one, showing Prince Andrew with his arm around the bare waist of 17-year old Virginia Roberts, with Ghislaine Maxwell smiling in the background.
Prince Andrew has no good answer for this picture. In his Answer to the Complaint, Prince Andrew’s legal filing, Prince Andrew literally said in Paragraph 38 (which addresses the picture): “Prince Andrew lacks sufficient information to admit or deny the allegations contained in paragraph thirty-eight of the Complaint.”
Kevin Spacey has been accused of sexual assault by more than 30 people. Most of the accusers have been men, but there is at least one female accuser. Thus far, the only criminal case against Kevin Spacey to go to trial was dismissed when the chief accuser invoked the Fifth Amendment rather than answer questions about whether he had deleted files from his phone.
If Spacey were to be on Prince Andrew’s witness list, he would be subject to deposition by David Boies before trial. At such a deposition, Boies would have latitude to ask questions that went to bias and credibility, which would include all of the allegations of sexual assault against Spacey. Spacey would have to be beyond foolhardy to sit for such a deposition, rather than invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
If Spacey were to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during a deposition, he would not be allowed to testify at trial.
If Spacey (shockingly) did not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights and testified before the jury, it would be disaster for Prince Andrew. “Andrew also believes such a gifted actor and public speaker could be a very compelling asset in front of a jury” demonstrates that Prince Andrew has no clue how American juries work. Kevin Spacey is toxic. David Boies and his team would wrap Kevin Spacey around Prince Andrew so tightly that the taint of Kevin Spacey would pervade Prince Andrew.
Will Prince Andrew do this incredibly stupid thing? We’ll see.