Prince Andrew was only beginning to breathe a sigh of relief when the disgraced Duke of York received an upsetting update about his biggest controversy.
King Charles’s brother – who was stripped off of royal titles and patronages following his connection to the Jeffery Epstein case – was embroiled in a row to keep his 30-room Windsor mansion Royal Lodge.
After the Epstein files were labelled to be based on “unfounded theories” in the FBI investigation last month, Andrew still finds himself very much attached to the controversy as he urged to testify in court.
US lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Epstein victims, has asked Andrew to cooperate and appear before Congress.
“He can volunteer to testify. His silence is a statement that he’s not willing to help,” she said, via The Mirror.
Andrew previously shared a friendship with the late financier and allegedly was one of the clients of Epstein’s sex trafficking services. He strongly denies having inappropriate relations with victim Virginia Giuffre when she was underage. The Duke is also still accused of not cooperating with the authorities despite promising to do so.
“There’s nothing Prince Andrew can say or do to make it go away. It is news now all over the world. People want to know, who was involved in trafficking or sexually abusing children?” the attorney continued.
“That’s a legitimate question. His silence is a statement that he’s not willing to help for some reason. So, all I can say is, now more than ever, he should come forward.”
She noted that Andrew could testify publicly especially since he volunteered to give an interview to BBC – which landed in a disaster for the royal’s reputation.
“I called on Andrew to speak to the FBI. I would say now more than ever, it’s urgent. Is he willing to testify before Congress? Is he willing to give more information to the Justice Department? And if not, why not?” he emphasised.
“He shouldn’t be in fear if he did nothing wrong. But he doesn’t have to come back here. I would think his testimony, if Congress wanted to take it, perhaps he could do a deposition in the UK.”
