In a dramatic and sharply-worded legal filing, attorneys for Jeffrey Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre have condemned the defence strategy employed by Prince Andrew's lawyer, Todd Blanche, labelling it a classic case of 'victim-blaming'.
The fiery exchange, lodged in New York court documents, centres on Mr. Blanche's attempts to challenge Ms. Giuffre's credibility by referencing a 2009 compensation claim she filed related to Epstein's abuse in Florida.
Giuffre's legal team, led by sigDavid Boies, issued a powerful rebuttal, arguing that Blanche's tactics are a transparent effort to 'try the victim' rather than address the facts of the case against the Duke of York. The filing states that such strategies are a common feature in cases involving powerful men accused of sexual misconduct.
The documents reveal a deeply contentious pre-trial phase, with Ms. Giuffre's lawyers accusing Prince Andrew's side of attempting to 'shift blame and responsibility from himself to the victim.' This legal skirmish is a precursor to a potentially explosive civil trial, where Ms. Giuffre is suing the Queen's son for alleged sexual assault when she was a teenager.
Prince Andrew has consistently and vehemently denied all allegations against him. The case continues to cast a long shadow over the Royal Family, with Buckingham Palace having already distanced itself from the Duke's affairs following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview.
