The Duke of York has been accused of attempting to “falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to co-operate” with US authorities investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew’s legal team has insisted the royal has made three offers to help with the probe into his former associate but the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York said a request to schedule an interview has been repeatedly declined.
Geoffrey Berman, who is leading the Epstein inquiry, was responding to a statement issued by Andrew’s lawyers on Monday.
READ MORE: Opinion: Neil Mackay: Amid covid and racism … if we want to build a better world, let’s start with police interrogating Prince Andrew
America’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted a mutual legal assistance (MLA) request to the Home Office to quiz the Queen’s son as a witness in a criminal investigation into the disgraced financier’s offending.
The duke’s legal team said: “The Duke of York has on at least three occasions this year offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ.
“Unfortunately, the DOJ has reacted to the first two offers by breaching their own confidentiality rules and claiming that the duke has offered zero co-operation. In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance proffered.”
Mr Berman hit back, saying: “Today, Prince Andrew yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to co-operate with an ongoing federal criminal investigation into sex trafficking and related offences committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, even though the prince has not given an interview to federal authorities, has repeatedly declined our request to schedule such an interview and nearly four months ago informed us unequivocally – through the very same counsel who issued today’s release – that he would not come in for such an interview.
“If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about co-operating with the ongoing federal investigation, our doors remain open and we await word of when we should expect him.”
US attorney general William Barr weighed into the matter, dismissing reports that the UK would extradite the royal to the US.
Mr Barr told Fox News: “I don’t think it’s a question of handing him over. I think it’s just a question of having him provide some evidence.”
READ MORE: Prince Andrew made three offers of help to US authorities over Epstein says lawyers
Andrew’s public life was left in tatters after his disastrous Newsnight interview about his friendship with Epstein, which saw him accused of showing little empathy for the financier’s victims.
In the programme’s aftermath the duke stepped back from royal duties but became the focus of US authorities who wanted to question him about the financier, who killed himself in his jail cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Andrew has strenuously denied the sex allegations made against him (Michel Euler/PA)
Four days after last year’s interview, the duke said he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required”.
But Mr Berman told reporters in March the royal has “completely shut the door on voluntary co-operation”.
That claim was rejected by Andrew’s legal team as “inaccurate”.
An MLA request made by foreign countries is a formal process used to obtain help in an investigation or prosecution of criminal offences, generally when co-operation cannot be obtained by law enforcement agencies.
The process is normally secret but with reports on both side of the Atlantic about the request, Andrew’s legal team stressed its “commitment to confidentiality” and went on to make accusations of “misleading media briefings” against US prosecutors.
The statement said: “Any pursuit of an application for mutual legal assistance would be disappointing, since the Duke of York is not a target of the DOJ investigation and has recently repeated his willingness to provide a witness statement.
Virginia Giuffre has maintained her claims that the Duke of York had sex with her (BBC Panorama)
“It is hoped that this third offer has not been the cause of the most recent leak about the Duke of York.”
One of Epstein’s victims Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by the financier, also alleges the duke had sex with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17, still a minor under US law.
The duke categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.
The statement said: “It is a matter of regret that the DOJ has seen fit to breach its own rules of confidentiality, not least as they are designed to encourage witness co-operation.
“Far from our client acting above the law, as has been implied by press briefings in the US, he is being treated by a lower standard than might reasonably be expected for any other citizen.”
It stressed the US authorities have been “actively investigating” Mr Epstein for more than 16 years but their first request for help from the duke was on January 2 this year.
It went on to say: “Importantly, the DOJ advised us that the duke is not and has never been a ‘target’ of their criminal investigations into Epstein and that they sought his confidential, voluntary cooperation.”
The legal team said they were given an “unequivocal assurance” by the US authorities their discussions and the interview process would remain confidential, but claimed this commitment was broken.
Lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents some of Epstein’s victims, said she was not aware of any attempts by the duke to assist the US investigation.
She told BBC’s Newsnight: “I have not. I have of course written a letter which we have proof was delivered to Prince Andrew in December asking on behalf of some of the victims, my clients, for him to answer questions.”
Ms Allred added: “Justice delayed is justice denied and he needs to stop playing a cat and mouse game with the United States Department of Justice.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel