Prince Andrew will launch an extraordinary public fight back today after US authorities made a formal request for him to be quizzed over the Epstein affair.
The Duke of York is poised this afternoon to release ‘evidence’ that he says will show he has been co-operating with U.S.officials. He is expected to say that the Department of Justice has made false claims that they have faced a wall of silence from him and his team. The dramatic update comes as it emerged that the US Department of Justice has filed a ‘mutual legal assistance’ (MLA) request for help to the UK Home Office. These requests are used only in criminal cases under a legal treaty with the UK.
Prince Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing over his relationship with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
But the request from US officials means he could be forced to appear in a UK court as a witness in the case within months. US officials have previously claimed that Andrew has refused to co-operate with their requests to be questioned over Epstein and their investigation into his sex trafficking network.
Submitting an MLA is an audacious move to try to force him to answer questions. However, the Mail understands that the prince will make his own dramatic move Monday by hitting back forcefully at claims he has failed to engage with the American investigation.
It is understood his team will publish a full account of their dealings with the Department of Justice. The duke’s legal team is ‘at the end of its tether’ and has ‘tried to play a straight bat’ with US officials, only to be greeted by leaks and innuendo.
A source told the Media last night: ‘Legal discussions with the Department of Justice are subject to strict confidentiality rules, as set out in their own guidelines. We have chosen to abide by both the letter and the spirit of these rules, which is why we have made no comment about anything related to the Department of Justice during the course of this year.
We believe in playing a straight bat.’
Andrew, 60, is yet to speak to prosecutors in the US despite pledging in his disastrous Newsnight interview in November last year that he would co-operate.
The Department of Justice’s request for ‘mutual legal assistance’ from the Home Office effectively bypasses a request to Buckingham Palace. It means Andrew could be forced to appear in a British court as a witness within months.
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