Buckingham Palace has released another statement on behalf of Prince Andrew. Fox News reports this one comes after the Daily Mail released a video of Prince Andrew waving goodbye to a young woman at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York Mansion in 2010:

In a statement released Monday, Buckingham Palace said Andrew was “appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes.”

“His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behavior is abhorrent,” the Palace said.

The statement was released after the Mail on Sunday newspaper obtained a Dec. 6, 2010, video appearing to show Andrew inside Epstein’s opulent Manhattan home as the prince waves goodbye to a young woman.

Of course, the problem with this statement is that it is obviously not true. The charges Epstein pleaded guilty to were a joke compared to the scope of his actual crimes, but he still served some time. His plea deal happened in 2008. And yet, the video shows that Prince Andrew was still spending time with Epstein (and various young women) in 2010. If he were truly appalled by Epstein’s crimes, he would have distanced himself from the man rather than showed up at his home.

Andrew knew about Epstein’s conviction and continued to visit with him. That became a big scandal in 2010 when another photo of Andrew and Epstein walking in Central Park was published by News of the World. Here’s Vanity Fair from 2011 talking about the damage to Andrew’s reputation:

The sordid connection to Jeffrey Epstein inflicted by far the greatest damage on the prince’s reputation. According to a sworn deposition by Juan Alessi, a former employee at Epstein’s Palm Beach estate, Andrew attended naked pool parties and was treated to massages by a harem of adolescent girls. At least three of the girls were questioned under oath about whether Andrew had had sexual contact with any of the masseuses. One of them, Sarah Kellen, refused to answer, citing her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Another, Adriana Ross, was asked, “Has Prince Andrew ever been involved with underage minor females to your knowledge?” She reportedly replied, “I refuse to answer.” (Prince Andrew says he neither attended nor was aware of any naked pool parties.)

So the idea that Andrew is just now finding his voice to say he is “appalled” by Epstein is pretty ridiculous. Why hasn’t he said that over the past nine years when Epstein’s case seemed to recede into the background? As Ed pointed out last week, the Prince is said to be ‘panicked’ and seems to be lying low in Spain until the latest bit of bad news blows over. He’ll never face justice in a court for his involvement in this but this video is a reminder that doesn’t mean he’s innocent.

Here’s an ABC News report that includes the video of Andrew in Epstein’s mansion. You can see the video published by the Daily Mail here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIAKO6KCbJY