Latest news with #PrinceAndrew:Epstein
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Jeffrey Epstein Client List Revelation Raises Ghislaine Maxwell Questions
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A memo by Jeffrey Epstein investigators saying there is no "client list" relating to the dead financier and there will be no further charges has left some on social media questioning why his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was sent to prison. Donald Trump's administration ordered a review of the case with a view to the publication of names and evidence about the associates of Epstein who was facing federal sex trafficking charges when he was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City in August, 2019. Investigators concluded he killed himself. However, a memo by the Department of Justice and the F.B.I. now states there is no "client list" and there will be no more charges. Axios published the two-page memo, which read: "This systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list.' There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. "We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." ABC News also confirmed the existence and content of the memo. Newsweek approached the D.O.J. for comment. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein pose at the Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein pose at the Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, to Donald Trump's Jeffrey Epstein Review The memo appeared to spark incredulity on X, formerly Twitter, where podcasters The Hodge Twins, wrote: "Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison for 20 years for sex trafficking kids with Epstein. "And the DOJ and FBI just said that there is no client list, he didn't blackmail nobody, and nobody else is getting charged. So they sex trafficked kids to nobody??" The post was viewed 2.4 million times and liked 91k times. Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, told Newsweek: "That may be an argument she can use with a parole board, 'why is she the only one who has been prosecuted?' I think her lawyers will certainly be working on it." Tim Young, media fellow for strategic communications at right wing think tank The Heritage Foundation, wrote: "Well then I guess Ghislaine Maxwell was trafficking children to no one? Why would she be in jail then?" Another account posted: "Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison for trafficking underage girls to no one." The memo stated that video evidence submitted to the F.B.I. could not be released because it depicted acts of child abuse. Questions have also been asked about why the administration could not simply release the names of people depicted in the videos. Cawthorne told Newsweek: "Obviously, there is a whole lot more to this because there's all the videos. What's happening with them? Who is shown in them? "If they don't have the client list that Epstein compiled himself then they could compile a list from the video surely?" The Trump Administration Promises Names In February, Alina Habba, attorney and counsel to Trump, was a guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored and suggested there would be "names that will come out." "America needs to remember one thing," she said, "we are going to be promises made, promises kept. "But when you're dealing with victims, and by the way this is a perfect example of a case that was vetted, that went through trial, that had testimony and was prosecuted the right way, and I don't preemptively attack, that's just not the way I operate, but in this case, in Epstein's case, it is incredibly disturbing. "We have flight logs we have information names that will come out." Piers Morgan replied, "is it going to be shocking?" and Habba said: "I don't see how it's not shocking that there were so many individuals that were hidden and kept secret and not been held accountable." And she appeared to hint at new charges when she said: "I believe in accountability, so you have to now go through your process. Now, I won't say they're guilty until they go through their time in court but again now it's time for accountability." Ghislaine Maxwell's Criminal Conviction The argument in relation to Maxwell trafficking "to no one" may prove rhetorically persuasive to many but the actual Government case against her focused on her role grooming girls, aged 14 to 18, for Epstein to abuse. The indictment, published on the Department of Justice website read: "As MAXWELL and Epstein intended, these grooming behaviors left minor victims vulnerable and susceptible to sexual abuse by Epstein. "MAXWELL was then present for certain sexual encounters between minor victims and Epstein, such as interactions where a minor victim was undressed, and ultimately was present for sex acts perpetrated by Epstein on minor victims. "That abuse included sexualized massages during which a minor victim was fully or partially nude, as well as group sexualized massages of Epstein involving a minor victim where MAXWELL was present. In some instances, MAXWELL participated in the sexual abuse of minor victims." It added: "The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by MAXWELL and Epstein, both of whom knew that their victims were in fact minors. "As a part and in furtherance of their scheme to abuse minor victims, MAXWELL and Epstein enticed and caused minor victims to travel to Epstein's residences in different states, which MAXWELL knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse." The terms of the indictment did not require the victims to have been abused by anyone other than Epstein in order to secure a conviction. Maxwell was jailed for 20 years in June 2022 following a one month trial concluding in December 2021. In June, 2008, Epstein admitted soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
What Jeffrey Epstein Client List Revelation Means for Prince Andrew
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Prince Andrew will feel he is "off the hook" after an FBI memo said there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list and there would be no further charges, a biographer told Newsweek. In a New York civil lawsuit, Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein trafficked her in the early 2000s to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to have sex with the prince when she was 17. Andrew denied the allegation and settled out of court, paying a substantial sum but admitting no liability. Giuffre died by suicide in April. Prince Andrew at the Endurance event on day three of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, in Windsor Great Park, on May 12, 2017. Prince Andrew at the Endurance event on day three of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, in Windsor Great Park, on May 12, 2017. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images The Duke of York was one of the biggest, but by no means the only, high-profile figures accused of participating in Epstein's sex-trafficking operation, with rumors rife on social media of a "client list" detailing the names of famous men Epstein was said to have obtained compromising material on. Now, a Department of Justice and FBI memo seen by ABC News and Axios appears to confirm that there will be no new charges as a review ordered by President Donald Trump "did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." Nigel Cawthorne, the author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, told Newsweek that Andrew would be able to breathe a sigh of relief at the news, having never been charged. "He's off the hook isn't he," Cawthorne said. "The whole thing's run out of steam." Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008 as part of a plea deal and died in his jail cell while awaiting trial on further charges in 2019. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein entice and abuse young girls. Elon Musk's Rift With Donald Trump While rumors have long circulated about an Epstein client list, they received renewed attention in recent weeks amid billionaire Elon Musk's rift with Trump. During an argument with the president, Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 5: "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" Musk presented no evidence to support his claim and later deleted the post. The DOJ and FBI said in the memo that there was no evidence that Epstein kept a client list. Cawthorne said some might find Musk's comment compelling, "Can we just suppose that Elon Musk's right and that Trump's on the list?" Trump has dismissed Musk's claim, sharing a refutation by David Schoen, Epstein's former lawyer, on social media. Schoen wrote: "I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein's defense as his criminal lawyer 9 days before he died. He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!" Trump's Epstein Review In early 2025, the Trump administration ordered a comprehensive review of the federal government's records pertaining to Epstein, whose 2019 death by suicide in a New York jail has fueled years of conspiracy theories and public speculation. The review came amid mounting calls from Trump's Make America Great Again base for full transparency, and the administration framed it as a decisive move to end public distrust surrounding the high-profile case. A DOJ spokesperson told ABC News in March: "Under Attorney General [Pam] Bondi's leadership, the Department of Justice is working relentlessly to deliver unprecedented transparency for the American people." And Bondi herself said at the time, "We will get out as much as we can, as fast as we can to the American people." Prince Andrew's History With the FBI In 2020, the FBI sought Andrew's testimony as a witness, and his lawyers stressed that he was not viewed as a target of the investigation. Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York at the time, submitted a formal request to the U.K. Home Office to force Andrew to testify under oath, though no official confirmation was ever given about whether his evidence was forthcoming. Andrew's lawyers at Blackfords said in a statement in June 2020: "Importantly, the DOJ advised us that the Duke is not and has never been a 'target' of their criminal investigations into Epstein and that they sought his confidential, voluntary co-operation. "In the course of these discussions, we asked the DOJ to confirm that our co-operation and any interview arrangements would remain confidential, in accordance with the ordinary rules that apply to voluntary co-operation with the DOJ. "We were given an unequivocal assurance that our discussions and the interview process would remain confidential. "The Duke of York has on at least three occasions this year offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ." Berman replied: "Today, Prince Andrew yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to cooperate with an ongoing federal criminal investigation into sex trafficking and related offenses committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, even though the Prince has not given an interview to federal authorities, has repeatedly declined our request to schedule such an interview, and nearly four months ago informed us unequivocally—through the very same counsel who issued today's release—that he would not come in for such an interview. If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation, our doors remain open, and we await word of when we should expect him." Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
