Why Meghan Markle May Be Called to Testify in Prince Andrew’s Sexual Assault Trial
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
- A New York judge refused to throw out the sexual assault lawsuit against Prince Andrew.
- Virginia Giuffre’s attorney claims there are numerous reason he may call on Meghan Markle to testify.
- Markle may not be the only member of the royal family to testify.
Meghan Markle may be called to testify in Prince Andrew’s sexual assault trial, according to lawyer David Boies. The 80-year-old attorney is representing Virginia Giuffre in her sex abuse lawsuit. And he says there are numerous reasons why Markle could provide compelling testimony to back up Giuffre’s claims.
A New York judge refused to throw out the lawsuit against Prince Andrew
Queen Elizabeth’s second son has a choice to make now that Judge Lewis Kaplan has ruled that Giuffre’s lawsuit — where she alleges she suffered battery and intentional emotional abuse — can move forward. Giuffre claims that British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her when she was just 17 and forced her to have sex with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates — including Prince Andrew.
Because the judge decided against throwing out Giuffre’s lawsuit, Prince Andrew must choose between settling the case or battling it out in court. The disgraced senior royal has vehemently denied Giuffre’s allegations. But experts believe he could end up agreeing to a multi-million dollar settlement.
David Boies is a high-dollar attorney with a reputation for being the ‘greatest deposition-taker’
According to The Daily Mail, Boies is a highly sought-after attorney with the reputation of being the “greatest deposition taker in modern American justice.” If he gets the opportunity, Boies could quiz Prince Andrew for hours under oath. With the threat of perjury if the royal is discovered to have lied.
At a rate of $2,000 per hour, the Los Angeles-based Boies is a high-profile litigator. Whose clients have included Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Harvey Weinstein.
Meghan Markle may be called to testify
If Andrew decides not to settle and instead goes to court, Boies says there is a good chance that Markle will be called to testify. He explained to The Daily Beast that Markle might have “important knowledge” relating to Giuffre’s allegations.
“She is somebody we can count on to tell the truth,” Boise explained.
He went on to explain that Markle — who is married to Andrew’s nephew Prince Harry — was a “close companion to Prince Andrew and therefore probably saw what he did.”
Judge Kaplan’s decision means that Giuffre’s legal team can now move forward to the discovery phase of the proceedings.
In this phase, the plaintiff and her lawyers can request Prince Andrew’s private communications, compel him to be deposed, and acquire testimony from the royal’s family members.
There are three reasons Meghan Markle could testify
Boise explained that there are three reasons why the Duchess of Sussex could provide compelling testimony.
“One; she is in the US so we have jurisdiction over her. Two; she is somebody who obviously, at least for a period of time, was a close associate of Prince Andrew and hence is in a position to perhaps have seen what he did, and perhaps if not to have seen what he did to have heard people talk about it,” Boise said. “Three; she is somebody who we can count on, to tell the truth. She checks all three boxes.”
Meghan Markle might not be the only royal who will testify in Prince Andrew’s case
Boise says that in addition to Markle, he would seek depositions from “10 to 12” people close to Andrew. This could mean his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, or his brother Prince Charles. But, a deposition of Queen Elizabeth is not an option.
“I don’t think, out of respect and deference, and her age, we would seek to depose the Queen,” Boise said. “I don’t think she is going to have any knowledge that other people don’t have, I think that he is unlikely to have spoken as freely to his mother about some of this stuff as he might have to his contemporaries or his ex-wife.”
