The pressure is mounting on Prince Andrew to cooperate with the FBI in their investigations of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. On last night’s episode of Panorama, the BBC revealed that there are a total of six women - including Virginia Giuffre - who say Prince Andrew has evidence to give in their cases against the sex-trafficker.
‘One of the things that we have tried is to interview Prince Andrew and to try to get what his explanation is,’ a lawyer for five of the victims told Panorama. 'He was a frequent visitor. They ought to submit to an interview. They ought to talk about it.'
According to the programme, subpoenas have been prepared in all five cases, and would be signed off by a judge should Prince Andrew ever visit the US. If he did not want to give evidence, he can challenge the subpoenas in court.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said, ‘The duke is willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.’ However, Prince Andrew is yet to offer that help despite pleas from many of Epstein’s victims.
In fact, he declined to answer any of Panorama’s detailed questions and simply gave the same statement he did after the nightmare Emily Maitlis interview. ‘The Duke of York unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein,’ it read. ‘Epstein's suicide left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims. The duke deeply sympathises with those affected who want some form of closure. It is his hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives.’
Of course, they cannot begin to rebuild their lives until some form of accountability or justice is served, and Andrew could help that. Particularly, in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was alleged to be the ‘nuts and bolts’ of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation in last night’s Panorama.
Uncovering an email from Prince Andrew to Maxwell from 2015, Panorama claims the email read: ‘Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts.’ Maxwell replied, ‘Have some info. Call me when you have a moment.’
With that in mind, it’s thought Andrew could have useful information for investigators. Maxwell was and still is a close friend of Andrew, by his own admission. However, her whereabouts are still unknown. She was last tracked to Brazil in October, with no known location for her since then.
And so the question remains, will Prince Andrew cooperate with the FBI? And more importantly, why hasn’t he yet?
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