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One World with Zain Asher
Police In U.K. Arrest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor; Former Prince Andrew Arrested Amid Epstein Files Revelations; British PM: "Nobody Is Above The Law" Amid Andrew Allegations; New Reactions After Police Arrest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor; Trump Announces $10 Billion U.S. Contribution To Board Of Peace; Sources: U.S. Prepared To Strike Iran, Trump Hasn't Made Final Call; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired February 19, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:04]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You're watching the second hour of "One World."
Let's return to our breaking news right now. The biggest crisis for the British Royal Family in decades. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been
arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The younger brother of King Charles III turned 66 today. Police haven't said what led to
today's arrest, but they had been looking into claims that he shared sensitive information with the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey
Epstein, while serving as a trade envoy for the U.K.
Before the arrest, the British prime minister was asked if foreign prince should testify in relation to the Epstein files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: One of the core principles in our system is that everybody is equal under the law and nobody is above the
law. And it is really important that that is applied across the board.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, your majesty. Do you have any reactions to the arrest of your brother, sir? Your majesty, how are you
feeling after your brother's arrest? Your majesty, how are you feeling?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: King Charles shrugged off questions as he made a public appearance at London Fashion Week. But in a statement earlier, he said, he learned the
news with the deepest concern and stressed that the law must take its course.
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing over his links to disgraced financier.
Today's arrest follows the U.S. government's release of the latest batch of the Epstein files.
An attorney for one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims says that Mountbatten- Windsor's arrest to make, quote, restore some faith for those who believe that justice was unreachable.
The former prince was accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager, something that he has, of course, vehemently denied.
Earlier, an Epstein survivor told CNN that the U.S. should also take action too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARINA LACERDA, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: It's amazing and it's really, really something that all the survivors have been looking forward and
working towards.
And I have to say, Virginia's brother and sister must be thrilled right now. You know, I just look at it. It's insane how everyone's taking action
and we are doing nothing in the United States.
I'm right here in Norway right now. We have Princess Mette answered to questions and it's just really sad that United States is not taking any
action, but I'm very, very happy that, you know, we have again, you know, we're making history here, so this is big.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Nada Bashir is in London for us with the very latest. You know, just seeing those images of King Charles arriving for London Fashion Week and
hearing reporters shout questions at him. One person saying, how are you feeling about the arrest of your brother, sir?
I mean, it's extraordinary. I mean, I'm sure I certainly never thought that I'd hear those words. And I'm sure the king didn't either, Nada.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. This is the first senior member of the Royal Family to have been arrested in modern history. And, of
course, the ramifications of that are hugely significant.
This is a crisis, a scandal, which has been following the Royal Family for some time at many different engagements, not just King Charles, his wife,
Queen Camilla, but also the Prince and Princess of Wales have had to issue statements with regards to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and, of course, the
victims of the Epstein scandal as well.
As you mentioned, Zain, we did hear from King Charles this morning very swiftly issuing a statement essentially in support of the police
investigation being carried out thoroughly and properly as in any other legal case.
He had said that the palace has issued its full support for police on that front. And, of course, this echoes an earlier statement that the palace had
issued in anticipation of a potential reach out by Thames Valley Police with regards to the king's younger brother, former Prince Andrew.
Of course, we have also heard from royal sources telling us that the palace did not receive prior notice that this arrest would take place. We have
seen the video showing those unmarked police cars arriving early this morning. It's believed at around 8:00 A.M. at the Sandringham estate where
Prince Andrew had been taking residence after being evicted essentially from his former home of 20 years at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
[12:05:20]
And it's understood that both of those properties are now undergoing searches by police as part of this investigation.
Now, in terms of the arrest, we understand, according to Thames Valley Police that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in suspicion of
misconduct while in public office. And it's understood this is all centered around his time as the U.K. trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Now, police haven't officially stated what exactly led up to this arrest. But, of course, this comes -- the timing of this, of course, comes just
after the release of new documents by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the wider Epstein case.
And these documents appear to show that Prince Andrew, former Prince Andrew, may have shared sensitive high-level information, government
information with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, with regards to potential investments.
Now again, this isn't the official line of the British police, but the timing of this has led to those connections being made with regards to
Andrew's -- Prince Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
We've also heard importantly from the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who has said that he has shared documents and information with the
Metropolitan Police. This was shared ahead of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest today.
Really just a little bit from Gordon Brown's statement saying, this memorandum provides new and additional information that to which I
submitted last week to the Met. He has said, Essex and Thames Valley Police forces where I express my concern that we secure justice for trafficked
girls and women.
Of course, again, many will have concerns around the further allegations that have been made against the former Prince Andrew with regards to
trafficked women and girls. It's unclear at this stage, whether this is within the parameters of this current police investigation that certainly
isn't what we have heard from Thames Valley Police at this stage.
But, of course, this is an ongoing investigation. Prince Andrew, former Prince Andrew, is expected to remain in custody, in police custody for at
least 24 hours, potentially. But police officials can also secure an extension to that of up to 96 hours if the case is deemed serious enough.
So, we'll be waiting to hear more from police officials as they continue their investigation.
ASHER: All right. Nada Bashir, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Let's bring in Chloe Jay. She's a British criminal lawyer and a senior partner at Shentons Solicitors, a law firm in Winchester, England.
Chloe, thank you so much for being with us.
So, what is the level of probable cause that must exist before an arrest like this is made, Chloe?
CHLOE JAY, BRITISH SOLICITOR: So, we have a kind of a lower test in the U.K. really for an arrest and arrest is much more common in the U.K. It's
really where there's any reasonable suspicion that offence has been committed. And many, many people are arrested across the country every day.
And that doesn't necessarily result in any kind of prosecution or charge.
So, they obviously have some evidence that has given them a reasonable suspicion that an offense has been committed, but that's all we can say at
this point.
ASHER: And just in terms of what happens next, he was arrested today. We know the police can hold him for 24 hours. And then at that point, they
sort of have to decide whether or not they're going to keep him for longer or charge him or discharge him.
Just -- just talk to us about the thought process that the police have, just in terms of whether or not to keep him for up to 96 hours. What must
be in place? And what sort of evidence would they have to try to apply to a magistrate to keep him up to 96 hours instead of just the usual 24?
JAY: So, in order for them to be looking at that, extending his time in custody, that would be if they were trying to reach an actual decision, a
charging decision within this period of custody.
So, after 24 hours, the police themselves can extend to 36 hours. And then if they want to go beyond 36 to more like 96, they have to go to the
magistrate's court and present evidence. The threshold for charge is that there must be sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of
conviction.
In a case like this, with the complexity, the level of -- the sheer amounts of evidence within the -- the Epstein files, and potentially many witnesses
that may need to be questioned, my feeling would be that it would be very unlikely that they would be looking for a charging decision within this
period of custody.
[12:10:09]
I think it's highly likely that they will be bailing Andrew whilst they continue their investigation. Obviously, he's going to be questioned as
part his time in custody. And he may well put forward things that he would like the police to look at, potential witnesses that may assist him,
explanations that he may give.
And the police have a duty to explore both evidence that supports a prosecution and moves away from that prosecution. And I'm sure that that's
what they will be keen to do, is to explore everything that he may put forward.
And as I say, the complexity of this, I think it's highly unlikely that they will be holding him for a substantial period of time. I think it's
most likely he will be bailed whilst they conduct further inquiries and -- and bring all of the evidence together for a charging decision.
ASHER: So just in terms of conducting a full investigation and sort of police really dissecting this matter more thoroughly, what are they going
to be looking at here? I mean, obviously, they're going to be interviewing witnesses, both witnesses that -- that Andrew has put forward and others as
well.
But they're also going to be searching properties, all the properties that he's been associated with, and -- and perhaps confiscating electronic
devices, including computers too, Chloe.
JAY: Yes, and that may well be one of the reasons why they've arrested as they have, so that they can go in and -- and undertake those searches and
seize those items. And it would -- it would be very common for them now to look at all of those devices in -- in preparing the case for a charging
decision, because it may be that there is evidence on there that leads away from Andrew doing something wrong or -- or could -- could support a
prosecution.
So, it would be remiss of them really to try to go for a charging decision before they have all of the evidence before them and to have looked at all
of that thoroughly.
ASHER: All right. Chloe Jay, live for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
All right. Last hour, I spoke with CNN's rural historian, Kate Williams. Here is her analysis of this extraordinary moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: I have seen quite a lot of conversation online saying, but why isn't this about the accusations of the women, the
suffering of the women? It is something completely different. This is an allegation of misconduct in public office. It refers to his time of trade
envoy.
Now, trade envoy was a job that was pretty much created for Andrew. It was that, you know, him going all over the world. And the ostensible reason was
that he was creating deals, business deals, helping U.K. business operate within the world and he certainly used a lot of U.K. government expenses
and aeroplanes doing that.
And the argument is that because of this position he had, he had very, very sensitive, privileged information, information that you or I would never
know about what company was about to be sold, companies about to do takeovers, big deals coming.
And this would be very valuable if it was passed on to someone like Jeffrey Epstein, who knew all these wealthy people. And really people would know
whether to sell their shares or buy more shares. This is insider dealing, which is a crime under British law, a crime under most laws across the
world. And that really is very serious. That's what Prince Andrew, we think, has been accused of. All we know is misconduct in public office.
Of course, the police aren't even naming the 66-year-old man they took into custody today, but we all know who it is. And the fact is that these are
about the emails that we've seen in the Epstein troves that have been released, which made this clear that this had been revealed.
So, certainly for the police, there is a paper trail, well, we think there's a paper trail of emails being sent to Jeffrey Epstein saying, did
you know about X or Y company? And that is a criminal offense.
And if Andrew is arrested -- Andrew's been arrested, being questioned, he's obviously probably being questioned as we speak. I mean, this is
unprecedented for the Royal Family. I'm a royal historian. I studied royals throughout the ages. And this is the first arrest since the mid-17th
century, for over 350 years.
And royals have got away with all kinds of crimes in the past and it's been brushed under the carpet, not now. Andrew has been arrested. So whether
he's charged or not, even this is unprecedented and extraordinary. And it's the Royal Family in crisis.
Asher: I mean, so yes, to your point, you're a -- you're a royal historian. So if you go all the way back several hundred years, even sort of back
beyond the medieval period and even earlier than that, there has been this perception by the British public that the Royal Family was above the law
because of sovereign immunity.
The reality, especially in today's world, is so much more nuanced. And regardless of that, times are certainly very different now in terms of the
perception of the Royal Family and compared to sort of several hundred years ago. Walk us through how things have really changed.
[12:15:13]
WILLIAMS: Things have changed. And nowadays, the Royal Family, it is about that word you use there, perception. It's about perception and message. How
are the Royal Family perceived? They're not judged by the rest of us, by how much we sell or -- or sales figures or metrics of productivity. They're
judged by how they appear and how they're thought of. And that really is about public support. They rely on public support to do the job they do
and, you know, receive the large amount of money that they do. And if public support fails, they are in real trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Coming up more on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor, we'll take a closer look at what it means for Britain's leadership.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. A reminder of our top story, the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, King Charles' brother, has been arrested in the
suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Police have not said specifically what led to the arrest, but Andrew spent a decade as U.K. trade envoy, and police had previously said that they were
reviewing, rather, allegations that he shared sensitive information with the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, during that time.
Officers were pictured arriving out Mountbatten-Windsor's home at Sandringham. He has previously denied any wrongdoing over his ties to
Jeffrey Epstein.
A royal source says the Buckingham Palace was not informed in advance about the arrest. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest is the latest in a scandal
that has been engulfing the highest levels of the British establishment.
On Wednesday, British police said that they are assessing claims that Jeffrey Epstein allegedly trafficked women on flights through London's
Stansted Airport. CNN has contacted the U.S. -- the U.K. home office, rather, for comment.
Elsewhere, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced calls to resign over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to the US. That was
despite Mandelson's links to Epstein. Mandelson has since stepped down.
Speaking prior to Andrew's Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, the British Prime Minister said that nobody is above the law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARMER: Whether it's Andrew or anybody else, anybody who's got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is.
[12:20:04]
In this particular case, we talk about Epstein, but there are plenty of other cases. It is anybody who's got information relating to any aspect of
violence against women and girls has, in my view, a duty to come forward, whoever they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Let's bring in Harry Enten who has more for us on what this means for U.K. establishment and the reaction internationally.
I mean, it's interesting because there had been a lot of pressure on Keir Starmer prior to this point to resign because a lot of people said that he
knew about Peter Mandelson's ties to Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him U.K. ambassador to the United States. However, Keir Starmer now does have
the support of his cabinet.
But given the latest revelations about former Prince Andrew, there is still a lot of pressure on British elites right now.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: There is a ton of pressure on British elites, including Prime Minister Starmer.
I mean, what are we talking about here? You know, we're talking about, you mentioned his cabinet, but of course the cabinet has to answer to the
people, right? The government has to answer the people and Keir Starmer's numbers at this point are absolutely atrocious because I want you to take a
look here.
OK. Britain's who like Keir Starmer. Look at this, just 20 percent. His favor rating is just 20 percent, per IPSOS.
I actually saw an IPSOS poll in which the satisfaction with Starmer was 15 percent. This is actually somewhat higher, higher than the lowest numbers.
I didn't even choose the worst numbers. He's at 20 percent though on his likability.
But look at this, among Labour, among Labour supporters, get that, he is just at 52 percent.
You know, here in the United States, we talk about how bad Donald Trump's numbers are. Trump's own approval rating is double this, is double this.
His own approval rating Donald Trump's within his own party is usually between 80 and 90 percent.
We are talking about a man who barely has the support of half of his party, at least in terms of the general electorate.
Now, if you're here in the United States, right, one of the people who was forced to, in fact, the only president who was forced to resign was Richard
Nixon.
And I want to compare Nixon's numbers to Starmer's numbers because I really just kind of think that this puts it in a perspective.
Popularity ratings in their own country. Richard Nixon's approval rating in his final poll was 24 percent, 24 percent. Keir Starmer's is actually
worse. Actually worse. Keir Starmer is polling worse than Richard Nixon was before Nixon was forced to resign.
And more than that, I will note, this little nugget at the bottom. I can read it, it's small font. They both have similar approval ratings within
their own parties. So, it's not just that we're talking about low approval ratings for Keir Starmer. We're talking about a man who can barely get the
support of half of his own party, very similar to what Richard Nixon was going through back in 1974 before he was forced to resign here in the
States.
But, of course, we're talking British politics, right? We're talking about the U.K. So, I went back through the history books. I love going back
through the history books and want to find folks who had approval ratings of prime ministers who had as low approval ratings as Keir Starmer does at
this point.
And it turns out, guess what? U.K. P.M.s with ratings is bad as Starmer's. Every single one of them, either lost their party, lost the next election,
or they were forced to resign.
So obviously, look, it's a new day and age. You know, politics is very strange these days. But if we are following any of the regular rules of
politics, when you have an approval rating as the British Prime Minister, the U.K. Prime Minister of just 20 percent, that means, down the line,
you're either being forced out by the people or you're going out on your own accord.
At this point, Keir Starmer's numbers are very quite troubling. And, of course, this data doesn't even take into account what happened today. It
wouldn't be surprised if it does. But at least at this point, but based on the numbers we see, Keir Starmer is in a whole heck of a lot of trouble.
ASHER: All right. Harry Enten, live for us. Thank you so much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Still to come, a shocking moment not seen since the mid- 17th century. We'll have more on former Prince Andrew's arrest after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:14]
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.
Returning now to our major breaking news story. For the first time in modern history, police have arrested a senior British royal, Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Police have not specifically said what led them to this arrest, but it may be related to Mountbatten-Windsor's former role as U.K. trade envoy.
Police had previously said that they were reviewing allegations that he shared sensitive information with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
The former prince has previously denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein.
Reactions are pouring in amid the fallout from this historic arrest. Here is what the Royal Family's former security adviser told CNN a short time
ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRE PIENAAR, FORMER SECURITY ADVISER TO THE ROYAL FAMILY: I think the king is taking the correct course of action. He's making it clear that the
rule of law applies and that no one is above the law. There's no attempt on the part of the Royal Family to interfere in this police investigation.
And Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at the King's estate in Sandringham this morning. And the Royal Family completely cooperated with
the police.
And then second and most importantly, the Royal Family continues to do its duty to -- to the country and to the United Kingdom and to the people and
will continue with their work.
But clearly, everyone is very much shaken by all the revelations that have come out of the more than three million emails and files which the U.S.
Justice Department have released.
And this offense -- this offense that Andrew is suspected of, relates to his time as the special envoy on trade, for which he served from about 2002
to 2011. He was appointed to this public role, public office, by former Prime Minister Tony Blair at the time.
And this is a -- a -- a role that comes with significant public responsibilities and the offense for which he suspected involves firstly,
the fact that you must have done something that's an abuse of the public's trust whilst you were a public office holder and that you must have done it
deliberately.
So, there are very key elements that the police will have to evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to bring charges against him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Max Foster has been tracking all of these developments all day. He joins us live in Africa outside Buckingham Palace. Max, thank you so much
for being with us.
I think it's important to make a distinction because we did get a family statement from Virginia Robert (ph) Giuffre's family, just sort of
championing the arrest and sort of echoing this idea that nobody is above the law.
And while Andrew has faced allegations of sexually assaulting Giuffre when she was a teenager, allegations, by the way, that he continues to deny,
it's important to note this arrest is about something very different. This likely stems from his time as trade envoy during the first decade of the
2000s and suspicion of misconduct in public office.
[12:30:16]
Max, what more do we know about that specifically?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So there are two very different allegations, the public allegations effectively and then the sexual
allegations. This is not to do with those sexual allegations.
But effectively Andrew, allegedly, abusing his position as trade envoy, but many of the survivors praising this, even though it's a separate type of
investigation because they just want accountability into all the people that were in Epstein's orbit who may have committed any wrongdoing.
Andrew always denied any wrongdoing in relation to the sexual allegations, but in terms of these public office allegations, he hasn't actually
responded about at all and arguably can't now that he's been arrested, but quite an extraordinary day here in the U.K.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (voice-over): Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested after new revelations in the Epstein files in an extraordinary development without
precedent in modern history.
British police took the former prince into custody on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Having said earlier this month
that they were assessing claims that Andrew had shared sensitive information with the late Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the U.K.'s trade
envoy.
They've not said exactly what led them to this arrest, which comes after the latest tranche of emails released by the U.S. Justice Department,
appeared to show that Andrew was sending confidential material to Epstein.
ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR, MEMBER OF THE MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR FAMILY: Greta pleasure. You know our ambassador.
FOSTER (voice-over): Sparking renewed scrutiny of the already disgraced royal. He's previously denied any wrongdoing and hasn't commented publicly
on these more recent misconduct allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your majesty, how are you feeling after your brother's arrest?
FOSTER (voice-over): King Charles didn't answer reporter's questions about his brother's arrest, but said in a statement that he learned with the
deepest concern of the news and reiterated his wholehearted support and cooperation with the authorities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good choice. That's good choice.
MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR: Under (INAUDIBLE)
FOSTER (voice-over): Andrew became trade envoy in 2001. That position saw him travel the world, carrying a duty of confidentiality. He stepped down a
decade later after coming under fire over his association with Epstein.
Questions over his friendship have haunted him ever since. That's in part because of Epstein's conviction in 2008, when the financier pleaded guilty
to state prostitution charges involving an underage minor and served time in jail.
And yet, the senior royal stayed in contact with Epstein, even after claiming in a BBC interview to have cut ties with the convicted pedophile
in late 2010 during a trip to New York.
MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR: Now, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be
seen together.
FOSTER (voice-over): Emails released since then called that timeline into question. And Andrew's been dogged by a year's long crescendo of Epstein-
related scandals and allegations.
Late last year, the 66-year-old was stripped of all his royal titles and kicked out of his residence and essentially vanished from the monarchy.
The same police force that arrested Andrew on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office is also looking to allegations that the woman
was trafficked to the U.K. by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew. That investigation is ongoing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Today is Andrew's birthday, Zain. And he could well be spending it in a police cell, not receiving any special privileges whatsoever between
the interviews, which could go on for days.
ASHER: All right. Max Foster, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. I'm joined live now by broadcast and royal watcher, Bidisha Mamata, who's been tracking closely all of the developments we've been
seeing out of the U.K.
Bidisha, good to have you on the program. I always appreciate your perspective.
When you think about how the Royal Family is handling this, one of our correspondents, Max Foster, actually brought this up earlier when I was
asking him about this.
If this was any other family where a younger brother had been arrested and the older brother was just sort of seen out and about, carrying on duties
as normal, and then issuing a statement not publicly supporting his brother, not even mentioning that the person in question is his brother,
publicly distancing themselves from their brother, this would be considered quite bizarre, but this is not just a family.
[12:35:01]
Is it, Bidisha? It is so much more than that. Walk us through it.
BIDISHA MAMATA, BROADCASTER AND ROYAL WATCHER: It is just so strange and so difficult for them. They are, yep, exactly as you say, a family, but also a
Royal Family.
The representatives of a multiple centuries long medieval tradition, they're a firm, a corporation, a branch of British soft power.
And so this scandal, this arrest, but all the years leading up to it, have been so damaging because they're part of a story that goes against
everything the Royal Family say they stand for. They're supposed to be representatives of Britain and British values and culture and history and
heritage.
They're also supposed to be a source of diversion and entertainment for the public. In fact, the Royal Family understand that very well, but not like
this.
This is not scandal at the level of gossip. This is scandal at the level of absolute immorality and judgment. And so the king's statement was so
chilling, so very strong and so obvious.
Exactly what you say is what I noticed that he talks about his own brother as if he is this miscreant who's been arrested from down the road and who's
now in the hands of the police.
The king makes it very clear, you know, we stand by, we support the police. He mentions the police and the law and victims and witnesses and survivors.
He doesn't even spare words for the actual man who's been arrested.
ASHER: And just in terms of how the Royal Family will weather this particular crisis They're -- they're quite good at weathering crises.
They've had a number of them over the years. And we've often talked about whether or not a particular crisis could bring down the monarchy and it
never does, you know, they have a lot of staying power.
Is this particular crisis different, Bidisha?
MAMATA: No, I don't think so. I think you're exactly right and that the institution is always bigger than the individual. This is definitely a
crunch point because as you say, it's totally unprecedented.
This is a common arrest by Thames Valley Police driving in their unmarked police car after this beautiful house and pulling out a man whom they
referred to as a man in his 60s has been called in for questioning.
But nothing has toppled the monarchy in the U.K. so far, nothing at all and I have no doubt that in the days preceding.
The Royal Family may not have known that this arrest was happening in this place at this time today specifically, but I'm sure that they could either
intuit or they were told that this was going to happen at some point and they have made a clear decision to distance themselves from this man
absolutely.
His character has been well known for many, many decades. And in fact, a lot of those trade and envoy diplomatic soft cultural power jobs were ways
of getting him busy, giving him something to do.
And as we see from this arrest, which is not to do with sex crimes, he couldn't even fulfill and vindicate his professional responsibilities
allegedly in a normal and appropriate manner. And so all of this is coming back to bite the Royal Family.
ASHER: Bidisha, always good to have your perspective on -- on this sort of stuff. Thank you. Thank you as always so much.
We'll have more news after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:40:07]
ASHER: U.S. President Donald Trump says that his Board of Peace will be, quote, looking over the U.N. and making sure it runs properly. He made the
comments during the board's inaugural meeting in Washington earlier where the president had this announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the
Board of Peace. And that number is a very small number when you look at that compared to the cost of war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Key Western allies have not joined the Board of Peace. Kylie Atwood has more on the board's meeting and its mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There were some pretty substantial commitments that President Trump spoke to when he spoke here at
the U.S. Institute of Peace, now rebranded to be the Trump Institute of Peace here in Washington.
And I want to point out that, you know, he said that not only would the member countries be committing, but also the United States. He said the
U.S. would be putting $10 billion into the Board of Peace.
He said that the member nations have thus far committed $7 billion to reconstruction in Gaza specifically. And when it comes to the question of a
stabilization force in Gaza that we have been discussing and had questions about, he said that there are five countries that have contributed troops
or policemen who will be part of stabilizing Gaza, Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo, and Kazakhstan.
He said that Egypt and Jordan are both going to be providing training and troops for a police force inside a Palestinian police force.
So, we're going to have to watch and see how those commitments play out, what the timeframe is for when those commitments actually come to fruition.
But it's very clear that the countries who came here to this meeting today, particularly those countries who have already agreed to join the board.
There are more than 20 of them, wanted to make some substantial commitments, not only, of course, because the reconstruction, the
rebuilding of Gaza is incredibly important, but it also garners them some favor with the U.S. president who had some very admirable words for these
countries who have made contributions to date, while as you said, there are European nations, there are typical U.S. allies who have not joined this
board.
Some of them were here in Washington, sending a representative to see what was happening at this meeting, but they haven't made a commitment to join
this due to concerns that this is a board that could compete with the United Nations.
President Trump didn't shy away from that possibility, saying that this is a board that would be looking over the United Nations during his remarks
today.
So, we'll have to watch and see what happens with these developments, but there were substantial developments and commitments that President Trump
spoke to when he was speaking to all the leaders and all the diplomats who convened here in Washington for this inaugural meeting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: While President Trump oversees the board of peace, the U.S. is sending the world's largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
Meantime, Tehran and Russia just wrapped up joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. It comes amid a massive American military
buildup in the region.
And as President Trump suggests that the decision on whether to attack Iran could come within the next 10 days. Sources say the U.S. military is
prepared to strike as early as this weekend, but Trump has yet to make a final call. The president, meantime, is urging Iran to make a deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we're doing. And if they join us, that'll be great. If they don't join
us, that'll be great, too. But it'll be a very different path.
They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal. Or if that doesn't happen, I maybe can understand.
If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. But bad things will happen if it doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:45:15]
ASHER: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now from the White House.
So, just in terms of President Trump's overall goal here. He mentioned this 10-day window. He mentioned he's in a process of deciding what to do when
it comes to Iran.
But when it comes to his specific goals in Iran, Kevin, he's talked about regime change a few times. Some people would say that that was likely
bluster. That was part of a sort of psychological tactic.
But even if the president is potentially serious, which a lot of people sort of beg to differ on, what on earth would he replace it with? I mean,
has -- how detailed is the plan in terms of what to do next in Iran?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, when it comes to regime change, I don't think the administration has an answer about what
would come next.
And in fact, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said that explicitly in congressional testimony last month, the U.S. does not know what would
replace the Iranian regime if it were somehow ousted.
And I think that just speaks to a lot of the uncertainties about what exactly the president's objectives are here. You know, you hear him hinting
about regime change. You hear him talking, including earlier today, about the imperative that Iran not obtain a nuclear weapon.
On the other hand, the president says, and continues to say that those strikes that the U.S. carried out on Iranian nuclear facilities back in
June completely obliterated its nuclear program. So what precisely the U.S. is going after there also remains unclear.
And I think it just speaks to the fact that the president, until now and still now, has not necessarily laid out what precisely he's trying to
accomplish in all of this, either through diplomacy.
You know, we don't know exactly if he's trying to get the Iranians only to give up their nuclear enrichment, or if he's also included that to expand,
you know, its missile program, its support for proxies in the region.
We don't know exactly what they're talking about there. Or when it comes to prospective military action. The president has not said exactly what he's
trying to achieve, nor has he sought to get the buy-in from the American public.
He has not, you know, addressed the nation, for example, on what all of this is leading to. He hasn't tried to get members of Congress on board,
who are in recess this week. Many of them are wondering whether they will have any role in what the president is deciding.
The one thing that I think is clear is that the options before the president are expansive. You know, this massive military buildup that we're
seeing in the Middle East, it's the biggest in 22 years. We haven't seen something like this since the very early days of the Iraq War.
None of that suggests that the president is considering something discreet, something small, something like we saw back in June on the nuclear
facilities, or that we saw in Venezuela in that sort of hours-long mission to take out Nicolas Maduro.
What seems to be in place is the president having options for potentially a quite a sustained operation, potentially lasting many weeks, which is
something that I don't know that the American people have quite reckoned with.
And I thought it was striking yesterday when Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, was asked what the president was aiming for here. And she said
that there were many arguments for a military operation in Iran, and then declined to offer any of those arguments, at least in public, to the press.
And so I think as the president now weighs his decisions, and we understand he has not made a decision yet, all of these questions, I think, still have
to be reckoned with here at the White House.
ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak, live for us there. Thank you so much.
We'll be right back with more. Our breaking news coverage of the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:32]
ASHER: All right. We just got new reaction to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Virginia Giuffre's brother, Sky Roberts, and his
wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SKY ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S BROTHER: We don't know, but we're hopeful. I think we're very hopeful that the -- this is the start of the domino
effect. This is where the house of cards starts falling.
And, you know, kudos to the U.K. for taking the first step, for saying, you know what, we are going to arrest somebody who is held to one of the
highest esteems out there, somebody who was a former prince.
I mean, this hasn't been done before. And so to know what we should expect, it's really naive to say that we do, but we won't stop.
I mean, Virginia said it so clearly in her statements, and I'll say it again here today. Like, we won't stop until justice is served.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Reaction there from the family of Virginia Giuffre.
The former Prince Andrew was arrested earlier today on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Though police have not said what specifically
led them to this arrest. Andrew spent a decade as the U.K. trade envoy.
The arrest follows the U.S. government's release of documents, detailing the former prince's ties to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied any wrongdoing over his ties to Epstein.
CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster is live outside Buckingham Palace in Central London.
So, just in terms of what prompted the arrest, we don't have specifics. We do know that Republic, the anti-monarchy group, did file a criminal
complaint to police about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
What more do we know about that, Max?
FOSTER: Well, that was that he was abusing his public position as trade envoy sharing internal government documents with Epstein before they were
due to be released. They could have been market sensitive as well. So, they made that complaint. And that's what led to initially inquiry by Thames
Valley Police into abuse of this public position that Andrew had.
And then after that, we got the arrests of Andrew today. So, that's where we see the link here, but they're not revealing any specific details in
case it doesn't eventually lead to a charge.
So, they've got 24 hours that they can hold Andrew. So into tomorrow they could do two things. They could charge him or they could bail him whilst
they continue their inquiries.
But there is a third option actually where they could go to magistrate and ask to keep him for, you know, well into next week effectively.
But at the moment, he has not been charged. This is part of their inquiries, but you can assume that there was a development in the case that
allowed them to go ahead with this arrest and present something to him, certainly knowing that it's going to be so high profile. So, they wouldn't
have done that lightly.
So, it's interesting that they did that and it is it really does take all the allegations around Andrew to a new level.
Obviously, the Giuffre family very much speaking about sexual allegations. This police investigation isn't in -- looking into that. This is much more
about, you know, I guess you could describe as corruption allegations abusing your -- your public role and not acting in public interest.
ASHER: One of the sort of mottos, what mantras of the Royal Family is this idea of never complain and never explain. There's going to be so many
questions though that the Royal Family is going to have to answer in terms of what they knew and when.
You know, how are they going to handle all of this? I mean, right now, it's business as usual. King issued a statement and then he sort of continued
his public duties as normal. But will they have to come forward perhaps and talk about what they knew?
[12:55:09]
I mean, obviously, it's tricky now because their brother, King's brother is actually under arrest. So the timing is tricky, but in the future, just in
terms of trying to make this scandal go away, how is the king going to handle this, Max?
FOSTER: Well, if you look at the statement today, it's very much we put our, you know, full support behind the police investigation.
And then if you combine that with what you were describing, they'd continued with their royal engagements today, despite the Queen, for
example, being hurled questions about Andrew.
The other motto, of course, is keep calm and carry on. They are prioritizing the stability of monarchy. It would not have been easy for the
king to go out today in public at London Fashion Week, for example.
But the message there is that the monarchy does matter. We do have a role and we need to carry on with that.
The question is whether or not it will work, because they're effectively being paralyzed in that role right now and overshadowed by all of these
allegations, which are nothing to do with the king, but obviously, very much to do with someone very close to him.
ASHER: Max Foster, live for us there. Thank you so much.
And that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "Amanpour" is up next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
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