Prince Andrew faces new fallout over Jeffrey Epstein scandal
Prince Charles is reportedly preparing to confront his younger brother Prince Andrew over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein; Dailymail.com editor Charlie Lankston joins Dana Perino on 'The Daily Briefing.'
Prince Andrew is refusing to cooperate with federal investigators as they continue their probe into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, authorities said Monday.
According to the New York Post, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman told reporters at a news conference outside Epstein’s former Upper East Side residence that federal prosecutors reached out to Andrew, 59, and have been struggling to get the prince to agree to sit down with them.
Berman told the press outside the mansion: “The Southern District of New York and the FBI have contacted Prince Andrew’s attorneys and requested to interview Prince Andrew, and to date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation.”
Andrew is accused of having sex with at least one of the women allegedly Epstein trafficked.
Berman said he elected to share Andrew’s reluctance to cooperate simply because the prince “publicly offered, indeed in a press release, to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
Prince Andrew (right) is dealing with harsh backlash from critics and media personalities over an interview about his relationship with now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the numerous sexual assault allegations against the British royal. (Getty)
Per the Post, the release Berman was likely referencing to is a public statement issued by the Duke of York in November in which he said: “I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations.”
A royal insider told the Post in an e-mail on Monday, “This issue is being dealt with by The Duke of York’s legal team. Buckingham Palace will not be commenting further on this particular matter.”
Andrew has vehemently denied any claims of wrongdoing at the hands of his relationship with Epstein.
Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City in August. Life-saving measures were initiated immediately by staff. He was then transported to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, officials said at the time.
This photo shows the Manhattan residence of Jeffrey Epstein, Monday July 8, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Despite the fact the financier died behind bars awaiting trial for sex trafficking, the top prosecutor said the feds’ investigation into his sex abuse network will continue because “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,” Berman added.
According to the Post, the press conference was held to tout a new state law designed to make it easier for child-sex-abuse victims to sue.
The Duke of York was issued his walking papers and was ordered to move his offices out of Buckingham Palace in November after a nuclear interview he gave to the BBC in which he defended his friendship with Epstein. In the interview, Andrew also denied ever having sex with one of Epstein’s main accusers, Virginia Roberts Guiffre, after she claimed she had sex with Andrew three times, including when she was 17.
During the interview, Andrew attempted to establish an alibi for a key New York trip in the Epstein scandal, in which Andrew claimed he had stayed with former diplomat Sir Thomas Harris, the consul-general in New York at the time. Allegations made against him by Giuffre were impossible, Andrew said in the sit-down conversation with BBC, the New York Post previously reported.
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files released last week shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (Florida Southern District Court) (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
PRINCE ANDREW'S JEFFREY EPSTEIN INTERVIEW SLAMMED AS TOTAL DISASTER BY VIEWERS, MEDIA
Andrew also stated during the interview that he has "no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever."
However, Giuffre maintained in court filings that the convicted sex offender Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew at least three times, recalling the prince “sweating all over me” on a London dance floor. Andrew, denying the claim, pointed to his “stay” with the consul-general and claims that he cannot sweat as a consequence of a war injury.
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“I have a peculiar medical condition,” Andrew told the BBC’s Emily Maitlis. “Which is that I don’t sweat, or I didn’t sweat at the time … because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when I was shot at.”
“And I simply — it was, it was almost impossible for me to sweat," added Andrew.
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