‘So Bad for the Royal Family’: Trump Laments Arrest of Ex-Prince Andrew Over Epstein Scandal

President Donald Trump expressed his sadness over the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles III, during a Q&A with reporters on Air Force One on Thursday.

Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal title last year, was arrested on Thursday, reportedly over alleged misconduct stemming from his time serving as the U.K.’s special representative for trade and investment.

Emails published by the American Department of Justice in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act appeared to show the former prince forwarding sensitive UK trade visit reports to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex criminal with whom Mountbatten-Windsor maintained a friendship.

On Thursday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy made note of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest and asked Trump, “Do you think people in this country, at some point, associates of Jeffrey Epstein, will wind up in handcuffs, too?”

The president replied:

Well, you know I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated. That’s very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s a very, very sad-, to me, it’s a very sad thing. When I see that, it’s a very sad thing to see it, and to see what’s going on with his brother, who’s obviously coming to our country very soon. And he’s a fantastic man, the king. So I think it’s a very sad thing.

It’s really interesting because nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive, but now they speak. But I’m the one that can talk about it because I’ve been totally exonerated. I did nothing. In fact, the opposite, He was against me. He was fighting me in the election, which I just found out through the last 3 million pages of documents.

Watch above via C-SPAN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!