Prosecutors in New York say that Prince Andrew, Duke of York and member of the British Royal Family, has “completely shut the door” on cooperating with a FBI investigation about late billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On March 9, Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, discussed the Prince’s lack of coorperation during a press conference for an unrelated case. “Contrary to Prince Andrew’s very public offer to cooperate with our investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirators, an offer that was conveyed via press release, Prince Andrew has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation,” said Berman. The attorney also said that he and the investigator’s “office is considering its options.”

Controversy surround Prince Andrew has been long-standing. The Prince and Epstein were good friends with each other, having met in 1999 through Ghislaine Maxwell. Ghislaine, the daughter of late controversial publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, has also been accused of aiding in the sex abuse committed by Epstein. She denies these claims. After Prince Andrew and Epstein met, they frequently partied together. One time the two spent time together was at a birthday party for Ghislaine they threw at the Queen’s private house. Another time was when they were at the Mar-a-Lago club, partying with Donald Trump. In 2011, after Epstein had completed an 18 month sentence for sex crimes and after registering as a sex offender in New York, Andrew formally broke off ties with Epstein.

In 2015, Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed court documents which alleged she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Prince Andrew, and that Epstein kept her as a sex slave from 1999 to 2002, during which she would have been a minor. There is a photograph, allegedly taken in 2001, which shows Prince Andrew with Giuffre in his arms. Prince Andrew denies that any sexual activity took place between them.

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