Andrew told: You want to be known for escaping justice?
A US lawyer wanting to talk to Prince Andrew about his friendship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein says the royal’s epitaph should be: “I succeeded in escaping justice.”
David Boies – representing more than a dozen of Epstein’s victims – said the Duke of York had ignored several requests for an interview about his late paedophile pal.
Mr Boies said: “We’ve made at least three formal written attempts sent to [Prince Andrew’s] address in London and also to his lawyers in the past few months.”
The lawyer, whose clients include Virginia Giuffre – the US woman who claims she slept with the Duke on three occasions after being loaned out by Epstein – urged Andrew, 60, to think about the future.
He said: “If I avoid extradition, do I really want this hanging over my head and my family’s head for the rest of my life? Do I want my epitaph to be, ‘I succeeded in escaping justice?’” Mr Boies also hit out at the Prince’s new legal team, which includes Clare Montgomery, one of Britain’s leading extradition solicitors. Mr Boies said: “Often people in [Andrew’s] position are surrounded by advisers who sometimes think they will be more valued if they come across as very aggressive on their principal’s behalf, and that can lead to somebody not getting very good advice.
“It can be hard to tell your principal that he’s got to do something he doesn’t want to do.” Friends of the Duke accused Mr Boies of acting out of self-promotion.
One told the Express: “A request from a commercial law firm is not, and never will be, the same as an official judicial process.
“No competent legal team would ever recommend co-operating with for-profit civil lawyers.
“That begs the question as to why these firms continue to pursue the Duke and not Epstein’s estate. The answer is surely self-promotion.”
Andrew was previously accused by US prosecutor Geoffrey Berman of providing “zero co-operation” to the FBI’s investigation into Epstein. The Prince rejected the claim. Last night his spokesperson declined to comment. His friendship with Epstein – who killed himself in jail while awaiting trial for underage sex trafficking – led to him stepping down from royal duties last year.