ANDREW AND U.S. AT WAR ON EPSTEIN
Duke accuses prosecutors in the States of lies, insisting he has offered 3 times to be a witness American law chief fires back – saying it’s the prince who’s lying, is failing to co-operate... and needs to ‘come in’
PRINCE Andrew and American prosecutors branded each other liars yesterday in an extraordinary escalation of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The furious royal insisted he had offered three times to be a witness and it was ‘entirely misleading’ to say he had given ‘zero co-operation’ to the FBI.
But the Americans stuck to their guns in a hard-hitting statement saying Andrew had ‘repeatedly declined our request to schedule such an interview’.
The prince – through his lawyers – complained that he was being treated as a second-class citizen by the US justice system.
His fightback came after the US Department of Justice filed a bombshell request to the Home office formally seeking help to question him. This could force the Queen’s son to appear in court to
be grilled about his links to the paedophile financier. Andrew’s lawyers said it was a cynical publicity stunt, accusing US officials of breaking their own rules, telling untruths and trying to mislead the global public. The prince has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.
The row exploded after a five-month standoff between the duke and the FBI. The 60-year-old royal had promised last year, after a disastrous Newsnight interview, to ‘help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations’ into Epstein, who killed himself last August awaiting trial accused of sex trafficking dozens of schoolgirls.
According to Andrew, the first he heard from the FBI in their 16-year investigation into Epstein was on January 2. And he was just beginning the process of suggesting how he might answer their questions when, according to his friends, the Americans ‘went nuclear’.
On January 27, Geoffrey Berman, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, stood outside Epstein’s New York mansion and publicly accused the prince of reneging on his pledge by offering ‘zero assistance’ to the FBI. On March 9 he claimed the royal had ‘completely shut the door’ on co-operating.
Yesterday as Epstein’s victims demanded he ‘end the cat and mouse game’, Andrew’s City law firm Blackfords issued a 604-word statement effectively calling the
Americans liars. It called Mr Berman’s claims ‘inaccurate’ and said it had agreed to co-operate with the Department of Justice on the basis ‘our discussions and the interview process would remain confidential’, insisting it was given an unequivocal assurance on this point.
Blackfords 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.’ The statement by
Andrew’s lawyers continued: ‘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.
‘He is being treated by a lower standard than might reasonably be expected for any other citizen. Those same breaches of confidentiality by the DoJ have given the global media – and, therefore, the worldwide audience – an entirely misleading account of our discussions with them.’
Mr Berman hit back by saying: ‘Prince Andrew yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to cooperate 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.’
Andrew is being represented by Clare Montgomery, a leading QC in extradition cases. She represented the Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet and also the Swedish state in its 2012 attempt to extradite Julian Assange. Yesterday it was revealed that the DoJ formally applied to the Home Office last month under a 1994 treaty between the two countries to provide Mutual Legal Assistance. The request from the Amerito cans – a ‘diplomatic nightmare’ which has yet to be granted, according to Whitehall sources – means Andrew could be forced to answer FBI questions in a British court. He would in theory be entitled to ‘plead the 5th’ Amendment,
‘Reneging on his pledge’ ‘Falsely portray himself’ ‘If Andrew’s serious... we await word of when to expect him’
remain silent to avoid incriminating himself.
Asked during a Fox News interview whether the US had asked Britain to hand over Andrew, attorney general William Barr said: ‘I think it’s just a question of having him provide some evidence.’ Asked if he would be extradited, Barr replied ‘No’.
Gloria Allred, who represents two women treated as sex slaves by the late Epstein, said: ‘By refusing to voluntarily answer questions posed by law enforcement, Prince Andrew has demonstrated disrespect for the victims and their need to know the truth.
‘It is time for the prince to stop this cat and mouse game and stand before the bar of justice’.
Virginia Roberts, 36, who claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17, retweeted a comment calling on the Home Office to extradite him to America.
Andrew vehemently denies any wrongdoing and says he does not even recall Miss Roberts.