Epstein probe gets 'zero cooperation' from Prince Andrew: US prosecutor

Britain's Prince Andrew has provided "zero cooperation" to U.S. authorities probing sex trafficking allegedly carried out by deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein and co-conspirators, a prosecutor said on Jan. 27.

The FBI and U.S. federal prosecutors contacted Prince Andrew's lawyers and requested an interview with the prince, who socialized with Epstein, Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a news conference in front of Epstein's mansion.

As of Jan. 27, "Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation," Berman said at the event hosted by Safe Horizon, a group pressing for more legal protection for abuse victims.

He did not say when U.S. authorities had requested an interview with Andrew.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Andrew said in November he would be willing to help "any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe is focusing on British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, and others who facilitated the wealthy financier's alleged trafficking of underage girls, law enforcement sources told Reuters in December.

Maxwell has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Epstein had socialized with Andrew and other high-profile figures including U.S. President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, according to court filings.

Epstein's suicide in August, at age 66, came a little over a month after he was arrested and charged with trafficking dozens of underage girls as young as 14 from at least 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors said he recruited girls to give him massages, which became sexual in nature. Epstein had pleaded not guilty.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida...