London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

UK authorities protected Prince Andrew from US Epstein investigation, book says

UK authorities protected Prince Andrew from US Epstein investigation, book says

Geoffrey Berman, ex-prosecutor who led investigation in New York, claims his team was given ‘run-around’ over bid to talk to duke

British authorities protected Prince Andrew from US prosecutors investigating his relationship with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new book by a US attorney who led the investigation in New York.

Geoffrey Berman was fired as US attorney for the southern district of New York (SDNY) in June 2020. He is now the author of Holding the Line: Inside the Nation’s Preeminent US Attorney’s Office and its Battle with the Trump Justice Department, a book published on Tuesday.

Berman’s allegations of political interference in the most prestigious jurisdiction in US law have already prompted news of a Senate investigation.

His claims about obstruction in the matter of Prince Andrew and Epstein may cause consternation in a royal family dealing with the death of the Queen.

Before taking part in mourning ceremonies, Andrew had rarely been seen in public since agreeing a multi-million dollar settlement with a victim of Epstein who accused the prince of sexual assault when she was a teenager – a claim the prince vehemently denied.

Berman says SDNY prosecutors were eager to talk to Andrew about his friendship with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend who in New York in June was sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex-trafficking charges.

Andrew, Berman writes, “stated publicly that he would co-operate with the investigation, and we intended to give him a chance to make good on his word”.

But though the prince “kept publicly saying that he was co-operating in the Epstein investigation”, Berman writes, that “was not true”.

Berman says he asked his team to reach out in November 2019, after Andrew gave a lengthy (and disastrous) interview to the BBC.

Two New York prosecutors “spent about two weeks just trying to find out who his lawyers were”, Berman says. “We tried calling Buckingham Palace, and they were not helpful. We tried the Department of Justice attaché and state department, no luck. When we finally got to his lawyers, they had all these questions.”

Berman says “an endless email exchange” made it “clear we were getting the run-around” from lawyers who did not want the prince to talk to the SDNY about Epstein.

“He was not going to sit down with us,” Berman writes, “despite assuring the public that he was ready, willing and able to cooperate.”

Berman says a comment he made to reporters in January 2020, that Andrew had provided “zero cooperation”, brought the prince’s lawyers back to the table. But no interview ensued.

The SDNY then tried to compel the prince to cooperate, using an M-LAT or “mutual legal assistance treaty” request via the US state department. Berman says such requests had always worked both ways before.

“But that was not what happened with Prince Andrew,” he writes. “We got absolutely nowhere. Were they protecting him? I presume someone was.”

Noting a protest from Andrew’s lawyers in June 2020 that the SDNY was seeking publicity rather than “the assistance proffered”, Berman says: “Just to be clear: there was no assistance proffered.”

He also says the SDNY was not interested in a written statement from the prince, as “that’s not how we do investigations, even for British royals”.

In keeping with his other allegations about Trump administration interference in the SDNY, Berman also says the man who fired him, then US attorney general William Barr, saw the Epstein case as a useful pawn in a political game with the British government.

Barr, Berman writes, explained “that he saw our request to talk to Andrew as sort of a chit in a dispute with the British involving a US diplomat’s wife who had accidentally killed a 19-year-old British motorcyclist in an auto accident”.

He is referring to the case of Harry Dunn, who was killed in the crash with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas, a US citizen who the Trump administration refused to extradite to face charges, citing diplomatic immunity.

“Barr told me that the public rift over Prince Andrew’s refusal to sit for an interview was useful in this other case,” Berman writes. “It inflicted PR damage, was my impression, and made it more palatable for the administration to hold firm.”

Berman says this approach “seemed questionable to me, but it did not affect our approach with Prince Andrew. I still wanted to interview him but it had nothing to do with Barr’s agenda.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×