However, she was connected enough to be at Epstein’s seven-story Manhattan home in December 2010. Unbeknownst to Epstein and Andrew, a photographer was watching them. Keating was seen leaving the house as Andrew waved goodbye at the front door.
Charging
His misfortune was to be in the house at what turned out to be a crucial moment. Epstein and Andrew went for a walk in Central Park and photographer Jae Donnelly took the photo that proved they were back in touch. Andrew decided to maintain his friendship with a man convicted of having sexual relations with a minor.
Keating has never spoken about why he was at Epstein’s home that December. But he confirmed that he went to the dinner in February.
“It was a great social event,” he said. The daily mailand mentioned prominent media personalities who also attended. “A considerable portion of New York society was there, including Barbara Walters, Charlie Rose and Katie Couric. At the time, I had only lived in New York for about 10 weeks and was happy to accept the occasional social invitation.”
This newspaper could not be contacted for comment.
All of this is fuel for those who take the blame for anyone who got close to Epstein. Social media has spread insults about Keating for years because of the photo of the house. Some will add email to the mix.
But public interest is scant. Keating does not hold any public office. You are under no obligation to answer questions about your private life. The main reason to investigate the new email is to counter conspiracies.
One assumption, for example, is that Keating knew Maxwell and moved in the same circles as Epstein. In fact, there is no evidence that he knew Maxwell before 2014, when he interviewed her for a project called IdeaPod, published by the Huffington Post.
Another assumption is that she was very close to Andrew. Instead, the friendship appears to have been with his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Keating was photographed with Eugenie. at New York Fashion Week in 2014.
At the risk of belaboring this point, there is no reason to suggest an intimate relationship with Andrew.
Prince Andrew is under renewed pressure over his ties to Epstein.Credit: AP
There is also no reason to think that Keating knew all the murky details about Epstein. The plea agreement meant that some of the facts did not come to light until years later.
Keating wasn’t the only one who walked too close to the web. Epstein attracted many people around him starting in 2010, when he regained his place in New York society. Some of them were his accomplices. Others were simply invited to dinner.
He used donations to charities, amplified by publicists, to try to bury the past. A New York publicist, Peggy Siegal, made sure he was invited to the events. Siegal said The New York Times in 2019 that he had no problem restarting their friendship after his prison sentence: “The culture before #MeToo was: ‘You’ve done your time, now you’re forgiven.'”
Siegal hosted a dinner for Prince Andrew at Epstein’s mansion in 2010. according The New York Times. Among those attending the dinner were filmmaker Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, as well as broadcasters Charlie Rose, Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos.
Charging
Attending dinner did not make someone an accomplice to Epstein. It could show poor judgment or ignorance, but not necessarily guilt. Comedian Chelsea Handler attended the 2010 dinner, for example, and later said she had no idea who Epstein was. She also asked direct question from Allen and his wife: “So how did you two meet?”
Two key takeaways emerge from the email about Keating, Epstein and the prince. The first is that there is no evidence that Keating did anything wrong.
The second is that Andrew is completely exposed. This is the second email to emerge in the last two weeks confirming that she misled the public when she claimed she cut off contact with Epstein the day they walked through Central Park in December 2010.
Remember, Andrew was adamant about this on the BBC programme. news night program six years ago: “I never had any contact with him from that day forward.” This claim fell apart on October 13 when The times revealed an email he sent to Epstein on February 28, 2011, when their friendship was in the news. “Stay in touch and we’ll play more soon!!!!” he wrote.
We now know that Andrew was helping Epstein round up dinner guests on February 16, 2011. He’s been caught out again. This only strengthens the case for stronger action by Buckingham Palace and Parliament.
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