She was sufficiently connected, however, to be in Epstein’s seven-storey townhouse in Manhattan in December 2010. Unbeknownst to Epstein and Andrew, a photographer was watching them. Keating was seen leaving the house as Andrew waved her farewell at the front door.
Her misfortune was to be in the house at what turned out to be a pivotal moment. Epstein and Andrew went for a walk in Central Park – and the photographer, Jae Donnelly, took the shot that proved they were back in touch. Andrew chose to keep up his friendship with a man convicted of sex with a minor.
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Keating has never talked about why she was at Epstein’s house that December. But she confirmed she went to the dinner in February.
“It was a large social event,” she told The Daily Mail, and she mentioned prominent media personalities who also attended. “A sizable chunk of NY society was there, including Barbara Walters, Charlie Rose and Katie Couric. At the time, I had only lived in NY about ten weeks, and was happy to accept the odd social invitation.”
She could not be contacted by this masthead for comment.
All of this is fuel for those who assume the guilt of anyone who came near Epstein. Social media has spread slurs about Keating for years because of the townhouse photo. Some will add the email to the mix.
But the public interest is slim. Keating does not hold any public office. She is under no obligation to answer questions about her private life. The main reason for looking into the new email is to counter the conspiracies.
One assumption, for instance, is that Keating knew Maxwell and moved in the same circles as Epstein. In fact, there is no evidence that she knew Maxwell before 2014, when she 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 seems to have been with his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Keating was photographed with Eugenie at Fashion Week in New York in 2014.
At the risk of labouring the point, there are no grounds for suggesting an intimate relationship with Andrew.
Prince Andrew is under renewed pressure over his links with Epstein.Credit: AP
Nor is there a reason to think Keating knew all the murky details about Epstein. The plea deal meant some of the facts did not see the light of day until years later.
Keating was not alone in walking too close to the spider’s web. Epstein drew many people around him from 2010 onwards, 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. One New York publicist, Peggy Siegal, ensured he was invited to events. Siegal told The New York Times in 2019 that she had no trouble restarting their friendship after his prison term: “The culture before #MeToo was – ‘You’ve done your time, now you’re forgiven’.”
Siegal arranged a dinner party for Prince Andrew at Epstein’s mansion in 2010, according to The New York Times. Those at the dinner included filmmaker Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, as well as broadcasters Charlie Rose, Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos.
Turning up to dinner did not make someone an Epstein accomplice. It might demonstrate poor judgment, or ignorance, but not necessarily guilt. Comedian Chelsea Handler attended the 2010 dinner, for instance, and later said she had no idea who Epstein was. She also asked a pointed question of Allen and his wife: “So, how did you two meet?”
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Two key conclusions 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 utterly exposed. This is the second email to emerge within the last two weeks that confirms he misled the public when he claimed that he cut off contact with Epstein on the day they walked in Central Park in December 2010.
Remember, Andrew was adamant about this on the BBC’s Newsnight program six years ago: “I never had any contact with him from that day forward.” This claim unravelled on October 13 when The Times revealed an email he sent to Epstein on February 28, 2011, when their friendship was in the news. “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!” he wrote.
Now we know Andrew was helping Epstein line up dinner guests on February 16, 2011. He has been caught out again. This only strengthens the case for stronger action by Buckingham Palace and parliament.
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