MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
One of the most outspoken survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein was a woman named Virginia Giuffre. She said she was trafficked to the former Prince Andrew as a teenager, that she was forced to have sex with him multiple times. Andrew, as we heard, has denied all wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide last year. Today, her family put out a statement, thanking police. They wrote, at last today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.
I'm joined now by Virginia Giuffre's brother, Sky Roberts, along with his wife, Virginia Giuffre's sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts. Welcome to you both.
AMANDA ROBERTS: Thank you.
SKY ROBERTS: Thank you so much for having us. We appreciate it.
KELLY: So I quoted a piece of the statement that your family put out today. I wonder if there's anything more you would like to say about the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, about what emotions I'm sure it brings up for you both.
A ROBERTS: Yeah. I would say it's been a whirlwind of emotions. We got the news at 3 a.m. And the best news, you can get at 3 a.m., right? I think, you know, you're always worried when you get a phone call that early in the morning.
KELLY: Was it from a reporter, or who called?
A ROBERTS: It was from Virginia's longtime friend and publicist Dini von Mueffling, who has been, like, a astronomical partner with us in this fight. And she called us, and it was a huge moment. It was a moment of celebratory victory. And I think I, like, jumped out of the bed when Sky told me, and, you know, we know that we're going to go through this day, like, with highs and lows. I think it's going to be an intentional moment for us tonight to close the door, sit with ourselves and sit with this moment and just miss her and honor her because I think without her, we wouldn't be here.
S ROBERTS: Oh, yeah. Well, I'm the crier in my family, so she already had me in tears a little bit there. But...
KELLY: Yeah. Take your time.
S ROBERTS: You know, there's not really a - there's never a right answer for it, right? I think - I never know what we're going to feel in those moments. And then we got done with the initial wave. I don't think either of us could go back to bed. We did one of our first interviews at, like, 5 this morning. And then we went and got breakfast. And when I'm sitting at breakfast, I just started bawling.
KELLY: This may feel so obvious to you, but good news in what way? This was something you had been waiting for for a while?
A ROBERTS: Good news in a sense that something legally is happening here. And even though it's not connected to the direct allegations and testimony of Virginia, it is relative, and it is the very first thread that we've been able to pull on that is threatening legal action that we can pursue real charges. And yes, the most egregious crime was the child sex trafficking, but there are so many other threads that we can start to pull. And we're hoping that this investigation is the beginning.
KELLY: So you nodded to this, but I just - I do need to point out and need to underline, Andrew was not arrested for alleged sex crimes. He was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The Epstein files indicate he may have shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein back when Andrew was serving as a British trade envoy. I also just need to underline that Andrew had previously settled a lawsuit with your sister. He did not admit to any wrongdoing. Do those facts influence or temper any way your response to what happened today?
S ROBERTS: I think that it's very important that we don't forget how hard these survivors and the survivors' sisters have been pushing, that we wouldn't be here today without Virginia. And I think you kind of underlined it. You said the reason that they're bringing forth this arrest is because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and it's also because of these files. This is what we've been fighting for. This is the reason that we wanted these released. We knew that because of statute of limitations and predators and perpetrators can hide behind that veil to some degree. And we've got other work on the - behind the scenes to try to get rid of that too. But at this stage, I think, if they were capable of doing the most heinous crime out there, what else are they capable of doing? I think that's what we're seeing, and we just ask that they do an active investigation. I think the fact that they took the first step is far beyond what we're doing here in the United States.
KELLY: Since you mentioned the Epstein files, I'm curious whether you two have been able to bring yourselves to look at what has been released by the Justice Department. Like, does it feel helpful to you or not to have more details about what your sister may have experienced?
A ROBERTS: It's a double-edged sword, right? I think it was important for us to search for her documents. The crazy part is that Virginia actually hasn't been redacted, not one time. So we were able to find hundreds and hundreds of pages of her testimony. And, you know, it was a violation to what they were supposed to do. You have to remember she still has a family and children that deserve protection. So that was disheartening.
But there were so many things in there that, again, proved like vindication. One of them was a public deposition where she did name names, and we were going to look to see if the Department of Justice went out of their way to redact those names. And in some instances, they did. And so it was just further proof to really understand the intention behind this department. And it clearly was not transparency, and it was not for the survivors.
KELLY: I have a question about consequences. In the U.K., we now have the Epstein scandal rocking the royal family. It, of course, brought down Britain's ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson. He is now under criminal investigation. In the U.S., it's been something of a different story. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's co-conspirator, is in prison. But otherwise, consequences here, I think it's fair to say, have not been as severe. What would you call for - I'll put this one to you, Sky. What do you call for in the U.S.?
S ROBERTS: Well, I think priority No. 1 is that we need to acknowledge the survivors and what they went through. But I think we're far beyond just the acknowledgment piece. We need to see action from our DOJ. I mean, we were in the Pam Bondi hearing, sitting just three feet behind her. She wouldn't even turn around and acknowledge survivors right behind her. I mean, three feet. We were all the way in Washington, D.C. And so I think what we're asking for is that this administration needs to stop protecting the predators and the pedophiles. They are in those files. There's no doubt. You could read through each one. I mean, I - I'm sure you've read through quite a few. I know I have, that...
KELLY: Yeah.
S ROBERTS: ...Have been incredibly disturbing. And then when you go to those, the name is redacted. So the reality is, is there's more than enough evidence to bring forth, at least if minimal, an investigation. And I think that's what we're asking for, is if the U.K. can bring forward an investigation on Andrew, well then so can we.
KELLY: Have you been in touch today with other victims or their families?
A ROBERTS: You know, the messages came pouring in this morning. The overwhelming love and support that we've gotten, you know, personally, but also through social media. I mean, people reaching out to the account - to our accounts, Virginia's Voice, and just, you know, celebrating Virginia in this moment has been so overwhelming. And we see you, and we'll keep fighting. We're going to keep fighting. This is a day for you too. You can be an ordinary person and do extraordinary things through your pain. And so I think there's just a lot. There's a lot of emotions, you know? But the survivors are beautiful, and they have become our family. They have become our sisters and just such supportive group.
KELLY: We've been speaking with Amanda Roberts and Sky Roberts, the sister-in-law and brother of the late Virginia Giuffre. Thank you.
A ROBERTS: Thank you.
S ROBERTS: Thank you.
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