It’s slightly funny, in a macabre way, that whenever Prince Andrew pops his head up and declares that he’s ready for a comeback, all of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims come out and say or do something to remind people that Prince Andrew is a human trafficker and a vil degenerate. Just last week, Andrew made a big, splashy appearance at King Constantine’s memorial service and we were told, yet again, that Andrew is “back” and he believes that people want to see him again. Enter Meatball Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. For many years, Jeffrey Epstein used Palm Beach as a hunting ground for teenage girls, and Epstein’s criminal activities in Florida were what set off the FBI investigation. The investigation led to Epstein being given a sweetheart deal – an 18-month sentence for abusing, raping and trafficking countless girls and women. It was believed at the time that Epstein’s well-connected allies had pulled strings to ensure that Epstein walked away with little more than a slap on the wrist. Prince Andrew was one of those allies, and Meatball Ron is going to release some of those records.

A Jeffrey Epstein victim believes the paedophile’s pal Prince Andrew will face a day of reckoning with the release of bombshell court papers. Full details of claims that Andrew lobbied US authorities to accept Epstein’s plea deal in an underage prostitution case will be made public. The allegations about Andrew’s past friendship with the billionaire sex offender may dash all hopes he harbours of a return to royal life.

On Tuesday, a grinning Duke of York, 64, grabbed the limelight by leading the Royals into church to ­celebrate the life of the late King Constantine of Greece. On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill allowing the release of grand jury testimony relating to the 2006 probe into Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

The law will grant rare access to the testimony that ultimately led to one charge against Epstein, much to the fury of police and victims. The paedophile had faced up to 15 years in jail. Instead prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to soliciting a minor for prostitution, despite the FBI finding more than 40 victims.

He was sentenced in 2008 to just 18 months and, after less than a year, he was freed to serve the rest of his time in his Palm Beach mansion in Florida. Months later, Andrew visited the sex offender, staying with him at his Manhattan home.

Mr DeSantis, accompanied by two of Epstein’s victims, Haley Robson and Jena-Lisa Cordovez, signed the bill, HB 117, in Palm Beach. The former US presidential hopeful said: “There were a lot of questions about what happened where you had a sweetheart deal… This is long overdue, but again, we feel that we can’t just turn a blind eye.” Last night, a third woman abused by Epstein said: “For years, Andrew has evaded speaking to the FBI, instead giving his own ludicrous version of events to the BBC. Finally we will have a day of reckoning the Prince has long avoided. What more must it take for him to realise his friendship with Jeffrey will never go away? Speak up, man.”

Previously released legal papers accused Andrew of helping secure Epstein’s plea deal by lobbying the US Government. In legal documents, two of Epstein’s victims said the Duke was linked to pressuring officials to cut his sentence. The documents read: “(They are) seeking documents regarding Epstein’s lobbying efforts to persuade the government to give him a favourable plea arrangement, including efforts on his behalf by Prince Andrew. They have alleged these materials are needed to prove their allegations that, after Epstein signed the non-prosecution agreement, his ­performance was delayed while he used his significant social and ­political connections to lobby the justice department to obtain a more favourable plea deal.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

While this coverage is very centered on Andrew and he absolutely deserves that, it’s important to remember that every single part of Epstein’s plea deal was a complete sh-tshow. The investigation was compromised, the prosecution was compromised and the plea deal was the result of a lot of machinations behind the scenes involving other power players beyond Andrew. Releasing the full grand jury testimony will be enlightening about Andrew, but it will be enlightening about other people in Epstein’s orbit as well. Which is why Meatball Ron is doing this – DeSantis believes that the records will reveal something about prominent Democrats, like Epstein didn’t use his friend Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as a hunting ground.

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