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Prince Andrew's High Powered Lawyer Andrew Brettler · The Vault: The Epstein Files

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome to the Epstein Chronicles. Prince
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Andrew probably made the best decision of his life when
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  Speaker 1: he decided to hire Andrew Brettler as his lawyer. Because
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  Speaker 1: before that, he was floundering. His whole entire team was garbage,
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  Speaker 1: everything they were doing was pathetic, and honestly, if it
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  Speaker 1: wasn't for Brettler, we'd probably still be seeing Andrew floundering
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  Speaker 1: around like a complete moron. But Andrew Brettler is somebody
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  Speaker 1: who is good at what he does. As much as
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  Speaker 1: I was breaking his chops while he was representing Prince Andrew,
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  Speaker 1: I also said at the time, he's just really doing
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  Speaker 1: his job, right? He's not a Dershowitz type. He's not
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  Speaker 1: one of those kind of lawyers. But he is somebody who's,
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  Speaker 1: you know, will get down in the mud, get vicious.
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  Speaker 1: And you saw that with the way they tried to
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  Speaker 1: demean Virginia's credibility. That is something that they will always
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  Speaker 1: try to do when they have nothing else to go on.
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  Speaker 1: And we saw that for how long when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to Virginia? How many of these lawyers attempted that tactic
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  Speaker 1: and it didn't work? So you know when Andrew Brettler
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  Speaker 1: is telling you it's time to settle and settle for
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  Speaker 1: a huge amount of money like Andrew did, you know
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  Speaker 1: things are serious. And Everyone who's used Brettler understands that
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  Speaker 1: at least they have a fighting shot, right? And that's
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  Speaker 1: all you can ask for in a court of law,
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  Speaker 1: a fighting chance, especially if you know you're guilty. So
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  Speaker 1: if I had the money, I'd definitely be hiring somebody
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  Speaker 1: like Brettler if I was ever in trouble. This is
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  Speaker 1: a guy that knows his business, folks. 100%, no doubt
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  Speaker 1: about it. Now, does that make him a good person?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know him personally, but probably not. All right,
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  Speaker 1: so we have an article this morning, a relatively quick one,
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  Speaker 1: And it's from Variety. And it's an interview with Andrew
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  Speaker 1: Brettler where he's talking about defending, you know, all kinds
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  Speaker 1: of undesirable clients. This article was authored by Pete Karanikis
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  Speaker 1: and the headline, Attorney Andrew Brettler Talks Defending Controversial Clients,
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  Speaker 1: Including Chris Knopf, Armie Hammer, and Prince Andrew. Now, Armie Hammer,
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  Speaker 1: what the hell kind of name is that? Your parents
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  Speaker 1: must really hate you. Army Hammer, you better be like
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  Speaker 1: the coolest dude in school or you're getting your chops
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  Speaker 1: broke for sure. Their names have graced the tabloids. Army Hammer,
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  Speaker 1: Chris Knoth, Danny Masterson, Bryan Singer, Prince Andrew. What kind
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  Speaker 1: of lawyer does it take to represent controversial public figures
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  Speaker 1: who have already been tried and pillared in the court
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  Speaker 1: of public opinion? And how does that lawyer feel about
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  Speaker 1: taking on such controversial clients? Well, they get fucking pounded
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  Speaker 1: in public opinion because they're gross people. And when there's
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  Speaker 1: a load of evidence that's backing up what people have
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  Speaker 1: to say, kind of hard not to pile on, right? Now,
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  Speaker 1: you'll notice here on this podcast, it takes quite a
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  Speaker 1: bit of evidence before I get busy. I need court
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  Speaker 1: documentation and the rest of it because this is serious stuff.
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  Speaker 1: You can't just go around throwing out all kinds of
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  Speaker 1: allegations about people if they're not on base. But when
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about guys like Prince Andrew or anyone in
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  Speaker 1: Epstein's circle, obviously we have years and years of evidence
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  Speaker 1: to go on. And when you're dealing with Brettler here, well,
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  Speaker 1: he'll make you think that his clients are innocent even
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  Speaker 1: if you know they're guilty. That's how good this guy is.
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  Speaker 1: Meet Andrew Brettler, partner at Los Angeles boutique litigation firm
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  Speaker 1: Lavely & Singer. Although he may be formidable in a
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  Speaker 1: courtroom or sitting across from you at a negotiating table,
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  Speaker 1: the lawyer's phone manner is calm and soothing as he
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  Speaker 1: explains how he approaches his work. You represent many clients
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  Speaker 1: whose names are in the headlines. Do they find you
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  Speaker 1: or do you seek them out? And this is the
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  Speaker 1: author asking the question. And the answer, I'll say Brettler. Brettler,
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  Speaker 1: generally the former. They find me through their own representatives.
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  Speaker 1: I have good relationships with entertainment lawyers, publicists, crisis communication specialists.
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  Speaker 1: So they come through referrals and word of mouth. I
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  Speaker 1: still do get the occasional phone call from a new
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  Speaker 1: client who says, I saw your name and I'd like
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  Speaker 1: to talk. When you have a reputation like Brettler and
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  Speaker 1: Singer do over here at Lavely, you're going to get
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  Speaker 1: people calling you trying to get them off. Now, I
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  Speaker 1: don't know if anyone who's following the Andrew case is
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  Speaker 1: going to be calling and saying, hey, can I get
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  Speaker 1: me a $ 17 million deal too? But when you look
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  Speaker 1: at everything surrounding that situation, it should have been $ 50 million, right?
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  Speaker 1: All of the nonsense that Prince Andrew was up to?
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  Speaker 1: What attracts them to you, Brettler? I hope it's from success,
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  Speaker 1: not because I've taken on controversial people or taken on
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  Speaker 1: difficult cases, but because I get good results for my clients.
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  Speaker 1: I have a good bedside manner, if you will. And
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  Speaker 1: I've heard I've heard that about him. I heard he
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  Speaker 1: is very mild mannered, not one of the fly off
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  Speaker 1: the handle type lawyers and somebody that just exudes confidence
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  Speaker 1: in the courtroom. So I'm really glad that the prosecutors,
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  Speaker 1: as far as Andrew and Virginia are concerned, and the
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  Speaker 1: lawyers there were able to hammer out this deal. Because
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  Speaker 1: you get into a long protracted battle with Brettler and
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  Speaker 1: it becomes, you know, pretty bad for the people who
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  Speaker 1: are involved. Because like I said, they're not going to
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  Speaker 1: spare any expense and they will try and destroy your
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  Speaker 1: credibility 100%. Many of your clients have already been tried
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  Speaker 1: in the court of public opinion, and there's a lot
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  Speaker 1: of prejudice out there against them. How do you cut
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  Speaker 1: through that negativity? Brettler. It's very difficult. I believe strongly
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  Speaker 1: in the right to due process in our country. I
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  Speaker 1: believe in everyone's right to representation. I don't think people
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  Speaker 1: should be judged by the Twitter mob. I agree with
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  Speaker 1: all of that, honestly. And unless there is just a
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  Speaker 1: huge amount of evidence, people shouldn't be piling on. But
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  Speaker 1: unfortunately for Brettler here, and for Prince Andrew, we had
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  Speaker 1: that amount of evidence. And there's nothing that Brettler could
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  Speaker 1: have done in the courtroom, I don't care if he's Houdini,
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  Speaker 1: that would have gaslit me into thinking that, oh, we
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  Speaker 1: might have been wrong here, this is all a lie.
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  Speaker 1: And the fact that Andrew ended up settling the way
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  Speaker 1: he did, confirms that for me. See, for those who
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  Speaker 1: don't know who Brettler is, they can just write it
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  Speaker 1: off and say, ah, you know, he settled because he
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  Speaker 1: doesn't want mum to be embarrassed. But that's not how
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  Speaker 1: Brettler rolls. If Brettler thought they were going to win
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  Speaker 1: this case, they would have went to try and win
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  Speaker 1: this case. How do you think the public views your role, Brettler?
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  Speaker 1: I think if you do a poll of Americans and
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  Speaker 1: ask them whether everyone is entitled to good legal representation,
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  Speaker 1: 95% would say yes. Yet despite that, they voraciously read
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  Speaker 1: all the rumors and all the gossip they see in
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  Speaker 1: papers and online, so you're facing a wall of public
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  Speaker 1: perception that can be very negative. Well, guess what? Your
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  Speaker 1: clients aren't doing you any favors there, Brettler, okay? Armie Hammer,
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  Speaker 1: Danny Masterson. Prince Andrew, not a who's who's list of
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  Speaker 1: people you want to invite over for dinner. And I'll
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  Speaker 1: only speak on the Epstein case specifically and Andrew because
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  Speaker 1: that's what we do here. But all of those cases
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  Speaker 1: had a good amount of evidence against his client. How
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  Speaker 1: do you combat that? It seems like an insurmountable mountain
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  Speaker 1: you have to climb, Brettler. The process is always the same.
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  Speaker 1: It starts with the facts, listening to the client, reading
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  Speaker 1: whatever information the client can provide, and whatever I'm able
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  Speaker 1: to find from other sources. But you're right, it's not easy. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I'm glad to say that we played a little bit
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  Speaker 1: of part in that, making it not easy for him.
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  Speaker 1: While I respect Brettler as a lawyer, tell you what,
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  Speaker 1: I'd do it all over again. Spend all them countless
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  Speaker 1: hours talking about Prince Andrew. Yeah. All over again. Because
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  Speaker 1: guess what? We're not operating from fantasy land around here.
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  Speaker 1: We're using court documentation and strong, strong accusation to back
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  Speaker 1: up what we talk about. Has the Me Too movement
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  Speaker 1: changed your work? Brettler, yes, to a great degree. It
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  Speaker 1: has certainly made me busier in the sense that more
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  Speaker 1: people are being called out for alleged bad behavior and
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  Speaker 1: need representation more than they did in the past. But
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  Speaker 1: it has also fundamentally changed the way the media covers
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  Speaker 1: these matters. A story the press would not necessarily run
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  Speaker 1: five years ago is much more likely to get published
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  Speaker 1: these days. Well, who do you have to blame for that?
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  Speaker 1: All of these sick dudes are out here molesting people,
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  Speaker 1: being touchers, and making advances on people that don't want it,
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  Speaker 1: only have themselves to blame. Do you see the Me
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  Speaker 1: Too movement in a positive light? Brettler, it's a powerful
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  Speaker 1: movement and was long overdue. It's done a lot of
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  Speaker 1: good things. It also comes with new challenges. He's right
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  Speaker 1: about that. It certainly is. The concept of it is
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  Speaker 1: a good idea. It was it's about time that enough
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  Speaker 1: is enough. But it shouldn't be weaponized either. Is it
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  Speaker 1: fair to say that it's done some bad things as well?
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  Speaker 1: I think so. With every social movement, there are pros
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  Speaker 1: and cons, but it's never a bad thing to shine
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  Speaker 1: a light on injustice, to hold people accountable, but we don't.
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  Speaker 1: want to do so recklessly or based on anonymous allegations.
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  Speaker 1: I think in some ways it leads to the idea
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  Speaker 1: that if you're accused of wrongdoing, you're automatically guilty of
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  Speaker 1: that alleged behavior. That is fundamentally the opposite of what
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  Speaker 1: our country's founding principles are. Innocent until proven guilty. Yes, again,
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  Speaker 1: 100% agree. And I'm very cautious about that sort of thing,
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  Speaker 1: unless we have a ton of evidence. Do you think
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  Speaker 1: legal cases have emerged as a result of the Me
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  Speaker 1: Too movement that would otherwise not have come to light? Brettler,
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  Speaker 1: for sure. Lobbying efforts have increased at state legislatures. They've
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  Speaker 1: extended or removed statues of limitations or revived claims that
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  Speaker 1: used to be time barred. And that certainly makes more
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  Speaker 1: work for attorneys. So yes, it has created cases, but
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  Speaker 1: I don't think it has created instances of wrongdoing. So,
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  Speaker 1: Brettler saying, even though it has created more cases, he
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  Speaker 1: doesn't think that it's created unneeded cases that are fake.
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  Speaker 1: Are you able to discuss specific clients? I can discuss
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  Speaker 1: anything that's public, Brettler. Okay, let's start with Dave Portnoy. Brettler,
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  Speaker 1: the most recent lawsuit that I filed that received press
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  Speaker 1: attention was on behalf of David Portnoy of Barstool Sports
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  Speaker 1: against Insider. Insider wrote two articles about him, based on
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  Speaker 1: anonymous sourcing, accusing him of sexual misconduct in his personal life.
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  Speaker 1: We filed a defamation action against Insider and its staff
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  Speaker 1: for failing to accurately report and set the record straight
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  Speaker 1: when Dave presented evidence to the world that these claims
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  Speaker 1: couldn't be substantiated. Now, I haven't really been following that
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  Speaker 1: story too much, but... There's a lot of accusations going
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  Speaker 1: back and forth in that story, and until we have
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  Speaker 1: something more concrete, you know, not really something I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to dive into. What can you say about Prince Andrew,
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  Speaker 1: Duke of York, whom you repped in a lawsuit filed
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  Speaker 1: by Virginia Roberts? The case has been resolved, dismissed by
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  Speaker 1: the court pursuant to a settlement that the parties have reached.
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  Speaker 1: It's over. Yeah, notice that that was a quick one, huh?
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  Speaker 1: Really nothing to say about that, huh, Mr. Brettler? He
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  Speaker 1: knows he got wall up there. Let's be real. Even
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  Speaker 1: the best lawyers take an L from time to time.
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  Speaker 1: And Brettler certainly caught one here. Army Hammer. There was
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  Speaker 1: never a case. A lot of people think that there was.
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  Speaker 1: There was never a lawsuit, never a criminal proceeding. The
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  Speaker 1: media are obsessed with that matter. It never turned into
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  Speaker 1: litigation or into a criminal charge against anyone. That was
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  Speaker 1: a misconception. I don't know too much about that. All
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  Speaker 1: I know is that dude has a goofy-ass name, and
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  Speaker 1: maybe he should be arrested for that reason only. Then,
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  Speaker 1: what made the story so big, Brettler? It was early
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  Speaker 1: days of the pandemic. Everybody was home reading all these tweets.
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  Speaker 1: You have a well-known handsome actor being accused of salacious,
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  Speaker 1: kinky interactions with women. It captured the public's attention, but
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  Speaker 1: was completely blown out of proportion, to the extent that
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  Speaker 1: there was never anything in court. There wasn't a matter
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  Speaker 1: for me to handle other than to help him manage
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  Speaker 1: his image in the press. So I guess I didn't
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  Speaker 1: miss much here in the Army Hammer fiasco, huh? So
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  Speaker 1: how did you do that, Brettler? It was mostly dealing
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  Speaker 1: with the media and making sure that what was going
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  Speaker 1: to be published about Army was going to be truthful
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  Speaker 1: and not based on speculation. But these days, if you
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  Speaker 1: put salacious allegations online, people run with that. He's not wrong.
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  Speaker 1: How many times do we see something spiral out of control?
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  Speaker 1: Someone comes up with some crazy rumor, and before you
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  Speaker 1: know it, all kinds of nonsense is cracking off. Do
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  Speaker 1: you ever feel like you're playing a game of whack-a-mole? Yes,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: a big part of my practice is privacy rights of celebrities,
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: and I monitor and help them remove hacked or leaked
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  Speaker 1: photographs and videos. That is truly a game of whack-a-mole.
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  Speaker 1: I'm able to get a sex tape removed from one website,
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  Speaker 1: and it pops up on another. That must be a
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  Speaker 1: pain in the ass as a lawyer, huh? Said nobody ever.
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  Speaker 1: Dude sitting around tracing all this stuff online for two
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  Speaker 1: grand an hour? Sign me up. What's the status with
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  Speaker 1: Danny Masterson, who you rep in a civil harassment lawsuit
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  Speaker 1: filed by some of his former partners? Rettler, I'm not
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  Speaker 1: involved in his criminal trial, and because there's a criminal trial,
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  Speaker 1: the civil case has stayed right now. I'm his attorney
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  Speaker 1: in the civil case. And Chris Knoth, whom you rep
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: in connection with misconduct allegations leveled against him? Brettler, that's
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  Speaker 1: another media story. I helped him in the press, but
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: there was never a criminal charge, never been a lawsuit filed.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: It was right when the Sex and the City reboot
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  Speaker 1: was being promoted and had just done a Peloton ad.
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  Speaker 1: It's almost akin to what happened with Armie, a popular
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  Speaker 1: actor and salacious allegations. It captures the public's attention. Notice
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  Speaker 1: how he doesn't say that about Prince Andrew, right? Remember,
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: we're talking about a very smart man here. And listen
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: to what he says about all this other stuff and
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: just how the Prince Andrew case was settled. And Bryan Singer.
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  Speaker 1: Variety was peripherally involved because we published a story penned
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  Speaker 1: by Blake Steuerman, his former partner, who said he was
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: assaulted by Singer. Rettler. We provided our points to refute
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  Speaker 1: Blake's allegations. Variety included those in the story, and nothing
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  Speaker 1: has come of it since. You certainly have your hands full. Brettler,
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: it's a lot. It's fun, though. This is a fun
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: way to practice law. I feel very fortunate. I work
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: very hard, but I also feel very lucky and supported
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  Speaker 1: by the great attorneys I work with. So there's a
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: little inside look at what Brettler's thinking when he's taking
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: on these clients, right? Obviously, with just a little scrape
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: under the surface here, he's not going to give you
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: the full in-depth. But of all the lawyers that have
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: come up against the survivors, Brettler was the one I
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: thought would be the most difficult to deal with. I
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  Speaker 1: thought that he'd be the shrewdest. And if he had
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: even an inch of ground here, Prince Andrew would have
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  Speaker 1: never settled that case. I am convinced of that. Well, folks,
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  Speaker 1: that's going to do it for this episode. And we
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: will be back later on today, like usual, with some more.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: If you'd like to contact me, you can do that
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: at bobbycapucci at protonmail.com. That's B-O-B-B-Y-C-A-P-U-C-C-I at protonmail.com. You can
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: also find me on Twitter at B-O-B-B-Y underscore C-A-P-U-C-C-I. The
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: link that we discussed can be found in the description box.