By: Arthur Popowitz
Prince Andrew’s life will apparently never be the same in the wake of revelations of his friendship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest involves an important federal prosecutor basically suggesting the prince doesn’t always tell the truth.
Attorneys for the royal family member say he’ll be glad to answer questions relating to an investigation into sex trafficking – in writing. But the prosecutors insist they need an in-person interview.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the US attorney in Manhattan, said during a press conference three months ago that the prince had “completely shut the door” on assisting his office with the investigation. In fact, he used the phrase “zero cooperation.”
Now, the prince’s representatives are claiming that’s a lie – that the price is happy to help, but in writing. Next came dueling statements.
AP reported that Andrew’s lawyers said in a statement that he has offered three times this year to speak with U.S. investigators after being assured that he “is not and has never been a ‘target’ of their criminal investigations into Epstein.”
That offer, though, came with a request that “our co-operation and any interview arrangements would remain confidential,” said the firm Blackfords LLP in London.
“Unfortunately, the DOJ has reacted to the first two offers by breaching their own confidentiality rules and claiming that the Duke has offered zero cooperation. In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance proffered,” the lawyers said.
Berman noted in his statement: “Today, 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 offenses. If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation. Our doors remain open, and we await word of when we should expect him.”
“Under mutual legal assistance treaties, the British government could compel the prince to submit to an interview with its own officials if he were to persist in refusing to grant one to the federal prosecutors in New York,” the New York Times reported.
AP reported that Attorney General William Barr told Fox News on Monday that prosecutors are not seeking to extradite Andrew.
“I don’t think it’s a question of handing him over,” Barr said. “I think it’s just a question of having him provide some evidence, but beyond that I’m not going to comment.”
The world got even more complicated for the royal today when it was learned that a charitable trust supporting his work must give back in excess of $445,314 (£350,000) in payments made to a trustee after a public watchdog intervened.
“The Charity Commission has revealed the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust broke the law by handing over large sums to the prince’s household to compensate for time spent on other activities by one of his employees,” reported The Guardian. “The Charity Commission has revealed the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust broke the law by handing over large sums to the prince’s household to compensate for time spent on other activities by one of his employees.”
The problem, the piece continued, “emerged last year following publicity over the prince’s interview on BBC Newsnight about his friendship with the disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The highly critical report is a further blow to his position.”
