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 U.S. investigators want to
interview Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son,
about his friendship with Epstein - who was
awaiting trial on charges of trafficking minors
when he died last August in a New York City
federal prison - as part of their inquiry into
possible co-conspirators.
The Manhattan-based federal prosecutor, U.S.
Attorney Geoffrey Berman, said Andrew had
"sought to falsely portray himself to the public
as eager and willing to cooperate" but had given
no interview to federal authorities and had
repeatedly declined such requests.
Berman was responding to a report by Britain's
Sun newspaper, confirmed to Reuters by a U.S.
law enforcement official, that U.S. authorities
investigating Epstein's life and death had sent
the British government a formal request, known
as a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT)
submission, asking for access to the prince.
The MLAT is a procedure used in criminal
investigations to gather material from foreign
countries which cannot readily be obtained on a
police cooperation basis.
Britain's Home Office (interior ministry) said
it did not comment on the existence of any MLAT
requests. Buckingham Palace is not commenting on
the legal case.
"If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about
cooperating with the ongoing federal
investigation, our doors remain open, and we
await word of when we should expect him,"
Berman's office said in a statement.
Earlier on Monday, Andrew's lawyers said in a
statement following the Sun article that the
prince, whose official title is the Duke of
York, had offered his help to the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) three times this
year.
"Unfortunately, the DOJ has reacted ... by
breaching their own confidentiality rules and
claiming that the Duke has offered zero
cooperation," Andrew's lawyers Blackfords said.
"In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity
rather than accepting the assistance proffered,"
they said in a statement.
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 NO EXTRADITION
Andrew has publicly stated he will cooperate
with any "appropriate law enforcement agency".
But in March, Berman said the prince had "shut
the door on voluntary cooperation and our office
is considering its options".
In answer to a question U.S.
Attorney General William Barr told Fox News in
an interview on Monday there were no plans to
extradite Andrew.
"I don't think it's a question of handing him
over. I think it’s just a question of having him
provide some evidence," he said.
If the MLAT request is granted,
U.S. prosecutors could ask for Andrew, who
stepped down from public duties because of the
furore over his links to Epstein, to voluntarily
attend an interview to give a statement or
potentially force him to attend a court to
provide evidence under oath.
"Any pursuit of an application for mutual legal
assistance would be disappointing, since the
Duke of York is not a target of the DOJ
investigation and has recently repeated his
willingness to provide a witness statement," the
statement from the prince's lawyers said.
A U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation probe is
focusing on British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell,
a longtime associate of Epstein's, and others
who facilitated his alleged trafficking of
underage girls, law enforcement sources told
Reuters in December.
Maxwell, whose whereabouts are currently
unknown, has denied the allegations against her.
 An official U.S. medical examiner last year
ruled Epstein's death a suicide, though a
pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother suggested
evidence indicated he might have been strangled.
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Michael Holden;
additional reporting by Doina Chiacu. Editing by
Howard Goller and Nick Tattersall)
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