Andrew ‘failed to co-operate’ with FBI
The Duke of York has given the FBI ‘‘zero co-operation’’ following its requests for an interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, it was claimed yesterday.
Geoffrey Berman, a US attorney, said federal prosecutors and the FBI had asked to interview the Duke about the late paedophile billionaire, but had been met with a wall of silence despite the Duke previously saying he would talk to investigators if required. ‘‘The Southern District of New York and the FBI have contacted Prince Andrew’s attorneys and requested to interview him, and to date he has provided zero co-operation,’’ he said.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
A source said the issue was being dealt with by the duke’s legal team.
The duke, 59, was removed from public duties in November after a disastrous television interview focusing on claims he slept with a teenager who was trafficked to London by Epstein.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre has alleged that she had sex with the duke three times at Epstein’s request, including once in London in 2001 at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell, a close friend of both Epstein and the duke.
The duke vehemently denied the claim and said he had no recollection of meeting her. But the BBC Newsnight interview backfired when he failed to show empathy for the late financier’s victims or regret over their friendship.
He insisted he would need to take legal advice before agreeing to give a statement under oath and that only ‘‘if push came to shove and the legal advice was to do so’’ would he be willing to give testimony to US authorities.
But following days of intense criticism, he backtracked and confirmed that he was ‘‘willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required’’.
Berman, who is leading an investigation into Epstein’s possible co-conspirators, was speaking at the disgraced billionaire’s former New York home at an event to promote a law that makes it easier for victims to sue over childhood abuse. Before being asked if he had ‘‘reached out’’ to the Duke, he confirmed the investigation was looking at possible ‘‘conspirators’’ who had worked with Epstein, who killed himself in prison aged 66 last August.
‘‘Jeffrey Epstein couldn’t have done what he did without the assistance of others, and I can assure you that the investigation is moving forward,’’ he said.
He said he had decided to speak out about the duke’s failure to co-operate to date because he had ‘‘publicly offered’’ to assist the investigation. Berman said: ‘‘He [the duke] publicly offered, indeed in a press release, to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his coconspirators.’’
A New York judge is considering whether to unseal a tranche of documents containing new allegations against Epstein. The duke is thought to be named in the documents, which include depositions from 29 people, including new witnesses and Epstein himself. Hundreds of people named in the files were expected to have been formally notified by the end of last year to give them a chance to respond.
The evidence is part of a defamation lawsuit filed in 2015 by Giuffre against Maxwell, Epstein’s alleged former ‘‘madam’’. Maxwell has written a letter to the court to try to persuade the judge to keep the documents sealed.