Prince Andrew case: US court seeks help from Britain & Australia to get witness testimony

The New York court has officially asked assistance from British and Australian judicial authorities in getting testimony from potential witnesses into Virginia Giuffre’s sexual abuse case against Britain’s Prince Andrew. Judge Lewis Kaplan's formal request derives from petitions filed by Giuffre and Andrew's legal teams several weeks ago. On January 14, Giuffre urged Kaplan to approach British officials for assistance in collecting testimony from the Duke of York's former equerry, Robert Olney, The Guardian reported.

Giuffre's legal team also urged to obtain testimony from Shukri Walker who said she had seen the senior British royal with a young girl at London's Tramp nightclub in 2001. Olney and Walker both currently residing in the United Kingdom, according to court records filed by Giuffre's attorneys. Meanwhile, Lisa Bloom, Walker's lawyer, earlier stated that she is willing to take the deposition requested by Giuffre's team. Last month, Judge Kaplan was requested by Andrew's lawyers to seek assistance from Australian authorities in collecting testimony from Giuffre's husband as well as from her psychologist.   

The Prince has been charged with "first-degree rape"

As per the report, Kaplan's formal request is unsurprising, given that both sides had requested assistance in gathering testimony from witnesses outside the United States. Earlier on Saturday, January 29, Giuffre stated that she would only settle the matter if Prince accepts his crime. The Prince has been charged with "first-degree rape" after allegations that he forced Giuffre to get intimate with him in 2001 when she was being trafficked across the world by the royal's late paedophile associate Epstein. However, Andrew's attorneys have repeatedly stated that the Prince "unequivocally" dismisses Giuffre's "false" charges. 

Prince's lawyers challenged Giuffre's residency status

It is worth mentioning here that Prince's lawyers also challenged Giuffre's residency status in an attempt to get the case dismissed. In a court filing on December 28, they stated that a lawsuit filed by her may have to be dismissed as she no longer lives in the United States. According to attorneys Andrew Brettler and Melissa Lerner, complainant Giuffre has been residing in Australia for the last two years, and hence cannot claim to be a resident of Colorado, US, where she has not lived since 2019, reported the Associated Press (AP). However, the judge denied the plea to dismiss the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds.

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