Prince Andrew (60) remains the focus of the abuse scandal surrounding the late businessman Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019). After the British royal claimed to have shown its willingness to cooperate with US investigators, New York prosecutor Geoffrey Berman refused to do so and asked Andrew to help in the ongoing investigation. Victim lawyer Gloria Allred also increases the pressure on Prince Andrew and encourages him to "just tell the truth."
Prince Andrew hit the headlines after his friendship with the billionaire and suspected sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein was exposed. Epstein is said to have abused numerous minors and forced them into prostitution. One of the victims, Virginia Giuffre, also accuses Prince Andrew of abuse. The Duke of York forced her to have sex with him three times as a minor. The 60-year-old denies the allegations. According to a BBC interview that became a PR disaster for Prince Andrew, the Queen's second oldest son (94) resigned from his royal duties in November 2019 and has since avoided the public.
The issue: Was Prince Andrew willing to cooperate?
Then last Monday the offensive: Prince Andrew defended himself against the allegations that, despite previous assurances, he would not cooperate with the US investigators. It had previously been announced that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had applied to the UK Home Office for mutual legal assistance. If the request is granted, Prince Andrew could be forced to testify.
"The Duke of York has offered to support the DOJ as a witness on at least three occasions this year," said his team of lawyers in a statement, including from the BBC. The DOJ did not respond to its first two offers, instead prosecutor Geoffrey Berman publicly accused him in March of "zero cooperation". Berman responded to the Prince's allegation on Monday evening.
Prince Andrew is again trying to "erroneously show himself to be willing to cooperate," said Berman, according to the BBC. The prince did not undergo any surveys by the authorities, repeatedly refused and four months ago, through his lawyers, declared that he was never available for an interview. "If Prince Andrew is really serious about working with the investigators, our doors will remain open and we will be waiting for news when we can expect him," added Berman.
Victims want justice
Also lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents some women in the abuse scandal, wants to increase the pressure on Prince Andrew and has given various interviews in British media in the past few days. "It is time for Prince Andrew to end this cat and mouse game and finally face up to the judiciary," she told ITV. Because Prince Andrew was not willing to testify voluntarily, he was showing no respect for the victims of the law on the truth. In an interview with "BBC Breakfast", she added that under oath the prince "should simply tell the truth". At the moment he had very little credibility, unlike prosecutor Berman, who was genuinely looking for the truth and wanted to question the prince for it.
The alleged victim Virginia Giuffre has also tried to put pressure on Prince Andrew in recent months. "Ticktack, Andy. Time to talk!" She wrote in January on twitter. He should do the right thing, if not for her, then for the other victims of the Epstein scandal. Andrew is said to have been an overnight guest at Epstein's property in the United States and the Caribbean. He does not want to have known anything about his friend's machinations. Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in August 2019.