London - Lawyers for Britain's Prince
Andrew on Monday hit back at claims the royal was not
cooperating with US prosecutors investigating the late
financier Jeffrey Epstein, suggesting they were seeking
publicity rather than his help.
US investigators want to interview Andrew, Queen
Elizabeth's second son, about his friendship with Epstein, who
was found dead in prison last year while awaiting charges of
trafficking minors.
"The Duke of York has on at least three occasions this year
offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ (Department of
Justice)," Andrew's lawyers Blackfords said in a statement.
"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 statement said.
A report released by Harvard University last month found that billionaire financier and convicted sex pest Jeffrey Epstein visited its campus more than 40 times after his 2008 sex crimes conviction and was given his own office. Epstein was found unresponsive in a New York jail cell on August 10, 2019, and was pronounced dead in a hospital that day. File picture: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP