Prince Andrew is apparently not responding to the requests of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to shed light on the case of his deceased friend Jeffrey Epstein. Lisa Bloom, the lawyer for Epstein's victims, said that the Duke of York's failure to cooperate feels like a "slap in the face."
In an interview on Sky News, Bloom snapped and asked out loud what Prince Andrew could be trying to hide. Queen Elizabeth's son denied that he was part of Epstein's illegal activities, including sleeping with a minor and now his accuser, Virginia Guiffre.
Last November, Prince Andrew said in an interview with BBC that he was not a witness nor he did not suspect that his billionaire friend was doing something bad. The public criticized the duke for his lack of compassion for Epstein's victims for which he was forced to resign from his royal duties indefinitely.
Bloom, who represents five of Epstein's accusers, is now challenging Prince Andrew to disprove the criticisms by cooperating with the FBI. The lawyer, however, said, that the U.S. courts cannot subpoena the royal at the moment as the case is still under investigation and Epstein hasn't been charged since he committed suicide.
All they can do now is to drive public pressure to convince Prince Andrew to talk and give clarity to the case. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, however, said that there has been zero cooperation from Prince Andrew for their requests.
Bloom's co-lawyer Sigrid McCawley also said that the duke's "continued refusal to cooperate with the authorities" raises even more questions. Prince Andrew himself declared in the BBC interview that he was prepared to take part in the investigations.
Epstein was being questioned for international sex trafficking when he took his life while in prison in August 2019. Without him to stand trial, the lawyers said that Prince Andrew had the moral obligation in their search for truth.
After Blooms' interview on Sky News, Buckingham Palace said that Prince Andrew is discussing with his legal team. The palace refused to further comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, friends close to Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's girlfriend and alleged pimp, believe that the Duke of York will never testify. They claimed via The Sun that Prince Andrew and Maxwell have a protection pact. The friends also said that testifying will likely cheapen the British monarchy, hence even Buckingham Palace is allegedly against Prince Andrew talking to the FBI.
The sources, however, also said that Prince Andrew doesn't know anything about the cases lodged against his friend. Thus, his testimony will be a media stunt at this point.
