Andrew demands an ‘olive branch’ from US
PRINCE ANDREW will refuse to deal further with the US Department of Justice over its request to question him about paedophile Jeffrey Epstein until he is offered an ‘olive branch’.
A war of words broke out this week after the US authorities wrote to Britain’s Home Office to ask formally to interview the royal family member about his relationship with the disgraced American financier.
The prince said he had already offered his help as a witness and accused US prosecutors of breaking confidentially rules and issuing ‘complete lies’.
But Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney leading the investigation, countered that Andrew had sought to ‘falsely portray himself as eager and willing to co-operate’.
Last night, in a new furious salvo, a source close to the prince told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Until there’s an olive branch from the department of justice [DoJ] and an attempt to establish trust, we can’t deal with them.
‘The DoJ has been painting an entirely inaccurate picture and this third time was enough. There have been three provable breaches in the DoJ’s own rules
[in talking about cases] while the Duke [of York] has played a straight bat out of respect for the rules and the process.’
The stalemate leaves the British government with a headache.
The US request was received by Britain’s Home Office in April and a response is normally made in 30 days. If it is granted, the prince could be summonsed to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court to be interviewed.
Commentators believe his performance in last year’s disastrous Newsnight interview has made him cautious about giving a face-to-face interview.
US attorney Renato Mariotti, who was a state prosecutor for 10 years, said: ‘What the federal prosecutors would expect is that they would be able to question Prince Andrew themselves, without giving any questions in advance and have the opportunity for follow-up.
‘A written statement, which is what Prince Andrew seems to be offering, would not be sufficient. He wants to be able to say publicly he is co-operating without giving the federal authorities what they want. The DoJ have called Prince Andrew a liar and that is very unusual. The language was very pointed and blunt, which again is unusual.
‘I think they want to pressure him to either work out a deal or go into court and plead the Fifth [Amendment]. This is fraught with huge diplomatic issues and it goes beyond Prince Andrew. One would think the UK and US governments would discuss this and work out a solution.’