‘Time to stop playing games’: Lawyers for Epstein accusers urge Prince Andrew to assist with sex abuse investigation and warn he could be subpoenaed
‘No response is the same as zero cooperation. This is ridiculous. It’s just not acceptable,’ say lawyers
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Your support makes all the difference.Prince Andrew could be subpoenaed if he continues to be uncooperative with authorities in their investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking inquiry, according to a lawyer representing the billionaire paedophile's accusers.
Lisa Bloom and Gloria Allred, who each represent five alleged victims, urged the Duke of York to “do the right thing” in assisting with the investigation.
The calls come after US attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a news conference the duke had given “zero cooperation” despite his lawyers being contacted by prosecutors and the FBI.
“Prince Andrew himself is accused of sexual misconduct and he also spent a great deal of time with Jeffrey Epstein,” Ms Bloom told BBC News on Tuesday.
“So it’s time to stop playing games and to come forward to do the right thing and answer questions.”
She added the victims were “outraged” that Andrew has not been assisting the US authorities, which he said he would do in his BBC interview with Newsnight in November.
At the time, he said he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency” following his announcement he was stepping back from royal duties for the “foreseeable future”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Allred said: “No response is the same as zero cooperation. This is ridiculous. It’s just not acceptable.
“Prince Andrew has a moral obligation to volunteer to speak to law enforcement – that’s what he said he would do.
“We could, also, in our civil lawsuit, seek to subpoena Prince Andrew,” Ms Allred added. “Certainly, if he ever came back to the United States – that would be one of the first things that I’m sure a lot of lawyers, including me, would want to do.”
Mr Berman did not go into detail on what information prosecutors were seeking from Andrew, but said Epstein "couldn't have done what he did without the assistance of others".
One of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Guiffre, said in an interview with the BBC's Panorama programme that she had a sexual encounter with Andrew in London in 2001 when she was 17 years old that left her “horrified and ashamed”.
Her lawyer, David Boise, told ABC News: “Prince Andrew’s continued refusal to cooperate with authorities after freely acknowledging that he would be prepared to answer enquiries raises even more questions about the role he played in the international sex trafficking ring Jeffrey Epstein and other operated.
“Prince Andrew should take most seriously the deeply held belief in this country that no one is above the law.”
Andrew categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.
Additional reporting by agencies
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