On Monday, U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman gave an update regarding the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's sex-abuse case and the harm that he may have caused his countless alleged victims. As part of the efforts, Berman stated that law enforcement officials have reached out to Prince Andrew, who is the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, to learn more about what he knew prior to the financier's reported suicide.

Now, it appears as though the member of the British royal family was not as forthcoming as federal prosecutors and the FBI had initially anticipated.

According to ABC News, Berman revealed that both the Southern District of New York and the FBI have contacted the Duke of York's attorneys and made requests to interview the royal family member. However, they have allegedly been met with "zero cooperation" to date.

"He publicly offered, indeed in a press release, to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators," Berman stated. However, he declined to elaborate as to what prosecutors are specifically asking the royal.

This marks a turn from typical investigations as they normally refrain from disclosing information about ongoing cases to the public, but, Berman said, in this case, he felt the public had a right to know since Prince Andrew had agreed to cooperate.

As reported by the outlet, David Boies, an attorney for Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, said, "Prince Andrew's continued refusal to cooperate with authorities after freely acknowledging that he would be prepared to answer inquiries raises even more questions about the role he played in the international sex trafficking ring Jeffrey Epstein and others operated. Prince Andrew should take most seriously the deeply held belief in this country that no one is above the law."

In November, the Duke spoke to BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis about his past friendship with Epstein and about the allegations that he faced. At that time, he stated that he did not believe the photograph of him and Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre) was legitimate and that he felt aspects of his relationship with Epstein were "actually very useful."

This is not the first time that the British royal family has reportedly played a role in the Epstein investigation. In a leaked video, "Good Morning America" anchor Amy Robach stated that the Palace threatened ABC News "a million different ways" regarding Robach's report on the one-time millionaire. Since then, the news network has undergone an investigation to find out the identity of the person who leaked the clip.

A growing number of organizations have distanced themselves from Prince Andrew
A growing number of organizations have distanced themselves from Prince Andrew AFP / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA
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