Lawyers for Prince Andrew have rejected claims that he offered “zero cooperation” to the investigation into pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
US prosecutors said in January that the Duke of York had offered “zero cooperation” with their investigation into Epstein – but according to Andrew’s leag team, the Duke had offered help on “at least three occasions”.
The lawyers even suggested the US Department of Justice had opted for “publicity” rather than accepting their help.
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RT reports: In a statement on Monday, the British royal’s legal team said that he had offered himself as a witness to the US Department of Justice “on at least three occasions” this year.
They also accused the DOJ of “breaching their own confidentiality rules” by publicly claiming that the duke had been uncooperative. This is a sign that they are “perhaps seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance proffered.”
Statements and press briefings from US authorities have given the world “an entirely misleading account” of the situation, they claimed.
The furious response from Andrew’s team comes amid reports that he has been summoned by the DOJ via a Mutual Legal Assistance request (MLA) filed by the UK Home Office to answer questions about his relationship with the pedophile Epstein, who ended his own life in prison last year while awaiting trial.
If the request is approved, Andrew could be forced to provide testimony under oath to a UK court. If he refuses, he could end up being summoned to answer investigators’ questions in person in the US.
Despite his supposed enthusiasm to help, Andrew’s lawyers said the MLA request was “disappointing” since he is “not a target” of the investigation and has offered his assistance as a witness.
Prosecutors in New York have hit back by claiming that Andrew has ‘repeatedly declined our request to schedule such an interview’ and casting doubt on whether the Duke is ‘serious’ about offering help, as he offered to do in the aftermath of his disastrous Newsnight interview last November.
A lawyer for one of Epstein’s victims said that Andrew had ‘very little credibility’ and urged him to ‘take the oath and just tell the truth’ about his relationship with the late paedophile.
Prosecutor Geoffrey Berman said on Monday that Andrew had ‘yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to co-operate’.
