Miami Herald Journalist Whose Reporting Led to Epstein’s Downfall Reacts to Arrest of Former Prince

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Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald investigative journalist whose reporting led to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein’s downfall, reacted to the shocking news that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been arrested, writing that “never in a million years” could she have predicted this.

After mounting pressure — including from his fellow Republicans — President Donald Trump signed a law last November to release the files related to the deceased child sex predator and his girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell with a deadline of Dec. 19. The law required a wide release of millions of documents, photos, videos, and other files, with redactions limited to victims’ names and other identifying information.

The Department of Justice missed that initial deadline, but since then there have been additional releases of files that have included new revelations about rich and powerful people who were in communication with Epstein, including Trump and Mountbatten-Windsor.

The ongoing revelations about Mountbatten-Windsor’s associations with Epstein — and allegations by Virginia Giuffre — led to King Charles III stripping his brother of his royal titles last year. Mountbatten-Windsor denied wrongdoing but did settle a lawsuit out of court with Giuffre. She died by suicide last year.

The Andrew Formerly Known as Prince was arrested at his home Thursday by UK Thames Valley police — and on his 66th birthday, nonetheless. He is being accused of “misconduct in public office” connected to emails that were published by the DOJ, appearing to show he forwarded sensitive UK trade visit reports to Epstein while he was serving as the UK’s special representative for trade and investment.

Brown’s reporting is widely credited with leading to the arrests of Epstein and Maxwell for their sordid child sex trafficking scheme, as well as exposing details about the controversially lenient plea deal Epstein had for his earlier criminal case, and had worked closely with Giuffre and numerous other victims to help them share their stories. She was openly shocked at Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, and shared her thoughts in a Substack post on Thursday.

“This is the most significant story involving British royalty since King Edward VIII abdicated his throne in 1936 — and the first arrest of a royal since King Charles I, who was detained in 1647 during the English Civil War,” wrote Brown. “That’s four centuries ago.”

“Never in a million years did I think when I resurrected the Epstein story in 2018 it would lead to this,” she added, sharing a link to a collection of her Miami Herald reports on Epstein.

Brown devoted several paragraphs to highlight the “global” nature of the Epstein scandal and the difference between how the it was being treated in the U.S. and in Europe. “This story is bigger than politics,” she wrote, and it was “astonishing how much accountability seems to be possible once you cross the Atlantic”:

Meanwhile, neither the U.S. Justice Department or the Treasury Department seems to have made an effort to “follow the money” involving some of Epstein’s friends and associates.

Remember, Sen. Ron Wyden — who has been investigating Epstein’s finances for years — has hit a wall because President Trump’s Treasury Department hasn’t cooperated with his probe.

GOP leaders also seem to have their heads in the sand.

Why didn’t the DOJ investigate Epstein and his associates’ suspected money laundering? Isn’t it clear that banks were ignoring all the flags that pointed to him?

This story is bigger than politics; it is a global scandal with implications beyond the 21-page Powerpoint presentation the FBI put together on the case in July…

Andrew is the third person linked to Epstein to be arrested. One of his co-conspirators, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, was arrested in December 2020 on charges of rape of minors and sex trafficking. He died by suicide in a Paris jail while awaiting trial. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021.

Last week, Norway’s former Prime Minister, Thorbjorn Jagland, was arrested on corruption charges in connection with information Norwegian authorities found in the Epstein files pertaining to his relationship with the disgraced financier and sex trafficker.

Independent journalist Tara Palmeri, who has also conducted extensive reporting on the Epstein story, similarly cheered Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest as “a long-awaited step toward accountability,” emphasizing how he “had been lying about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein all along,” and “a lot of vindication” for Giuffre, who had been “dragged through the mud” by both the American and UK press,” who called her a “liar” and other insults.

The Epstein files and latest revelations “show that Virginia was right all along,” said Palmeri. “What she lived through was horrific.”

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