US prosecutor rejects claim Prince Andrew cooperating in Jeffrey Epstein sex probe
American prosecutors accused Britain’s Prince Andrew on
Monday of falsely claiming he has made repeated offers to help their investigation
into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The royal’s lawyers said their client had offered assistance
at least three times this year in the case, which centre on lurid sex
trafficking claims against the multimillionaire financier.
Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the Southern District
of New York, which is investigating whether Epstein had any accomplices in his
alleged crimes, hit back at the statement from Blackford’s.
“Today, Prince Andrew yet again sought to falsely portray
himself to the public as eager and willing to cooperate with an ongoing federal
investigation into sex trafficking and related offences committed by Jeffrey
Epstein and his associates,” Berman said.
He added in the statement that Queen Elizabeth’s second son
had “repeatedly declined our request to schedule” an interview.
Berman said that nearly four months ago Blackford’s had
“informed us unequivocally” that Andrew would not “come in for such an
interview”.
He added: “If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about
cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation, our doors remain open, and
we await word of when we should expect him.”
Andrew, 60, publicly defended his friendship with Epstein in
a BBC television interview last year, prompting outrage from his victims, and
leading him to quit frontline royal duties.
Blackfords’ statement said claims he had stonewalled
investigators were untrue, and accused the US Department of Justice (DoJ) of
chasing headlines.
“The Duke of York has on at least three occasions this year offered
his assistance as a witness to the DoJ,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately, the DoJ has reacted to the first two offers
by breaching their own confidentiality rules and claiming that the Duke has
offered zero cooperation.
“In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity rather than
accepting the assistance proffered.”
Andrew, a former Royal Navy helicopter pilot who as a
younger man had a reputation as a playboy prince, is accused of having sexual
relations with one woman when she was 17 – an allegation he has vehemently
denied.
The woman, Virginia Giuffre, alleges she was trafficked
underage to have sex with friends of Epstein, who was 66 when he killed himself
in a New York jail in August last year.
The hedge fund manager, who befriended countless celebrities
over the years, including US President Donald Trump, was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking
charges.
Andrew’s lawyers said they had upheld their commitment to
confidentiality but said they were forced to go public “in view of misleading
media briefings” from the United States.
US investigators had been looking into Epstein’s affairs for
more than 16 years but only requested the prince’s help on January 2 this year,
they said.
“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 statement said.
“In the course of these discussions, we asked the DoJ to
confirm that our cooperation and any interview arrangements would remain
confidential, in accordance with the ordinary rules that apply to voluntary
cooperation with the DoJ.
“We were given an unequivocal assurance that our discussions
and the interview process would remain confidential.”
The lawyers pointed to two claims from Berman on January 27
and March 9 that the duke was refusing to cooperate, leading to “misleading”
media reports.
“These statements were inaccurate, and they should not have
been made,” Andrew’s lawyers added, accusing the DoJ of treating their client
“by a lower standard” than anyone else.
The Sun newspaper on Monday reported that the DoJ had
submitted a mutual legal assistance request to Britain’s interior ministry to
force the prince to give a statement.
His lawyers said that would be “disappointing” given his
willingness to provide a written statement voluntarily.
US Attorney General William Barr told Fox News on Monday
that Andrew would not be extradited to the United States.
Comments
Post a Comment