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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been pictured lying across the legs of five people in an image released in a huge dump of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
In the undated photo, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell appears to peer down and smile at the former prince, who is smiling with his eyes closed and his head near a woman\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n
Maxwell \u2013 the former girlfriend of Epstein, who is currently serving 20 years in prison for her role in a decade-long scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls with him \u2013 can be seen standing beside another woman.<\/p>\n
All six people apart from Maxwell and the former Duke of York have had their faces redacted in the image, which is a photograph of a picture in a photo frame.<\/p>\n
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in November by the King following controversy over his links to Epstein. He strenuously denies any wrongdoing. In a previously issued statement, he said: \u201cAt no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>The photo released by the US Department of Justice appears to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reclining across the laps of five people (PA Media)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nA trove of documents, including court records, footage and images, was uploaded on Friday night to the US Department of Justice website, which held users in a queue as it experienced an \u201cextremely high volume of search requests\u201d.<\/p>\n
Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson also featured in the newly released files. In one photo, she is seen sitting on a sofa next to a woman whose identity has been redacted. In another image, she appears smiling at the camera while posing on a street, again with a woman whose identity has been shielded.<\/p>\n
In the latest documents, there are also multiple images of former President Bill Clinton lounging in a hot tub, as well as Epstein with a host of celebrities and high-profile figures, including Michael Jackson, Richard Branson and Lord Peter Mandelson. Mick Jagger also appears in the newly released files.<\/p>\n
Being featured in the Epstein files does not mean there is any suggestion of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in November by the King following controversy over his links to Epstein (AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe data dump came after US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said \u201cseveral hundred thousand\u201d documents from the so-called \u201cEpstein files\u201d would be released ahead of a legal deadline.<\/p>\n
He said the need to protect the victims of sex offender Epstein meant thousands more would be released over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The US Department of Justice are legally obligated to make all files related to the investigation into Epstein public by midnight on Friday following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.<\/p>\n
The paedophile financier was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan, New York, in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson also featured in the newly released files (DOJ)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAmong the hundreds of photos included in the files are also undated photos of Maxwell standing outside the door of 10 Downing Street and posing with former US president Bill Clinton and actor Kevin Spacey.<\/p>\n
Many of the photos and documents are heavily redacted, prompting criticism from US lawmakers and lawyers for Epstein\u2019s victims.<\/p>\n
Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who pressed for the law forcing the disclosure, said: \u201cUnfortunately, today\u2019s document release by AG Pam Bondi and DAG Todd Blanche grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that Donald Trump signed just 30 days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew has faced allegations, which he strenuously denies, that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. He paid millions to Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Richard Branson appears with Epstein in a newly released photo (DOJ)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nTens of thousands of records relating to Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ms Maxwell, have already been released through civil and criminal cases in the US.<\/p>\n
It comes after a fresh batch of images from Epstein\u2019s estate were released on Thursday by the Democrats.<\/p>\n
A total of 68 images were published online on Thursday, including billionaire businessman Bill Gates posing with women whose faces have been redacted, and prominent philosopher Noam Chomsky on board Epstein\u2019s private jet.<\/p>\n
The latest batch follows others from Epstein\u2019s estate posted last week, including one of Andrew standing next to Microsoft magnate Mr Gates.<\/p>\n
Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after his disastrous Newsnight interview, but the publication of Ms Giuffre\u2019s posthumous memoir, and the US government\u2019s release of documents from Epstein\u2019s estate, brought more scrutiny over his relationship with the financier.<\/p>\n
It led to the King officially stripping his disgraced brother of both his HRH style and his prince title.<\/p>\n
US politicians have criticised him for his \u201csilence\u201d after he missed a deadline last month to respond to their request to sit for an interview about Epstein.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been pictured lying across the legs of five people in an image released in a huge dump of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. In the undated photo, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell appears to peer down and smile at the former prince, who is smiling with his eyes closed and his head near a woman\u2019s lap. Maxwell \u2013 the former girlfriend of Epstein, who is currently serving 20 years in prison for her role in a decade-long scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls with him \u2013 can be seen standing beside another woman. All six people apart from Maxwell and the former Duke of York have had their faces redacted in the image, which is a photograph of a picture in a photo frame. Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in November by the King following controversy over his links to Epstein. He strenuously denies any wrongdoing. In a previously issued statement, he said: \u201cAt no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviou…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}