An open conflict has arisen between U.S. prosecutors investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew regarding the extent of Prince Andrew's involvement in the investigation. In a controversial BBC interview last year (opens in new tab) in which he denied allegations that Epstein's accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, "forced" him to have sex with the royal family, Prince Andrew said he would cooperate with prosecutors.January, Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Berman claimed (opens in new tab) that the royal family had "zero" cooperation with the investigation.

On Monday, media outlets, including NBC, reported that prosecutors had "formally requested through the British government" to speak with Andrew about the case (opens in new tab). Attorney General William Barr later told Fox News that there would be no extradition of the Duke of York, saying, "I don't think it's an extradition issue. It is a question of getting him to give some evidence."

Andrew's lawyer, Blackfords of London, responded with a "strongly worded two-page statement," as reported by The Guardian (opens in new tab). The statement reads, "Lord York has offered to cooperate with the DOJ as a witness at least three times this year. Unfortunately, the DOJ has violated its own confidentiality rules in response to the first two offers, claiming that the Duke has not offered to cooperate at all. In doing so, they are presumably seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance offered," the statement reads.

Berman responded in a separate public statement, as reported by The Guardian, accusing Andrew of trying to convince the public to participate in the investigation while "repeatedly" turning down interview requests.

"Today, Prince Andrew attempted to misrepresent to the public that he is eager and willing to cooperate with the ongoing federal criminal investigation into sex trafficking and related crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.

A Justice Department spokesperson told the Guardian, "We do not publicly comment on communications with foreign governments regarding investigative matters, including confirming or denying the very existence of such communications."

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