Marjorie Taylor Greene has responded to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, in Britain by lamenting the lack of any arrests in the United States and “the current state of MAGA.”
Greene, the former Republican congresswoman from Georgia, said on X about 5 a.m. ET on Thursday, hours after Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest was first reported: “The UK has arrested Andrew because of the Epstein files and over here the President signed an EO [executive order] protecting cancer causing Glyphosate in our foods and we have zero Epstein related arrest and investigations since release of the files.
“And we are on the verge of going to war against Iran. That’s the current state of MAGA [Make America Great Again] and MAHA [Make America Healthy Again].”
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Context
Greene a former ally of President Donald Trump, had a very public falling out with the president over her calls for the U.S. Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein and her criticism of Trump’s focus on international issues at, in her view, the expense of domestic issues. Greene quit the House of Representatives in November after Trump vowed to endorse a rival to replace her in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. She served her final day in Congress on January 5.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest comes as the release of a huge trove of Epstein files by U.S. Department of Justice has sent shock waves through Europe’s political, economic and social elites, ending careers and spurring political and criminal investigations. But the release of the files have not spurred the same public reckoning for Epstein’s associates in the United States, at least so far.
Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
What To Know
The U.K’s Thames Valley Police said it had opened an investigation into an offense of misconduct in public office, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The force previously said it was “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent confidential trade reports to Epstein in 2010, when he was serving as a trade envoy. One email included in the latest U.S. document release appears to show the former Prince Andrew forwarding Epstein a report prepared by his special adviser ahead of a Southeast Asia trip.
After the arrest, King Charles III expressed his “deepest concern” over his brother’s arrest and said that the law must take its course in the investigation.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who turned 66 on Thursday, was escorted from his Sandringham residence as officers searched properties in the English counties of Berkshire and Norfolk. He moved to the king’s estate in Norfolk after he was evicted from his longtime home near Windsor Castle earlier this month.
The latest revelations about Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with Epstein come after the most recent document dump by the U.S. Justice Department of records from its investigative files on Epstein under a law intended to reveal what the government knew about the financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people.
Last year, King Charles III stripped his brother of the right to be called a prince and ordered him to move out of his royal residence close to Windsor Castle over new revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein’s victims.
The late Queen Elizabeth II forced her second son to give up royal duties and end his charitable work in 2019 after he tried to explain away his friendship with Epstein during a disastrous interview on the BBC’s Newsnight program.
Mountbatten-Windsor previously settled a lawsuit for millions of dollars with Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April last year. Giuffre said she was 17 when she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor in London. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied having sex with Giuffre or committing any crimes.
What People Are Saying
King Charles III said in a statement on Thursday: “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office. What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.
“Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.
“As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
Virginia Giuffre’s siblings said in a statement shared with CBS News on Thursday: “At last, today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.”
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