From: (USANYS)"
To: (USANYS)"<
Subject: DAILY BEAST: Prince Andrew: I'm Ready to Talk. The FBI Never Asked. Feds: Oh Yes, We Did
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:24:46 +0000

Prince Andrew and the FBI were involved in a furious war of words Tuesday, after he denied claims made by the U.S. attorney for Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, that he has refused to cooperate with American authorities investigating Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sexual abuse.

Andrew said no request had been received, and he was ready to talk.

However a spokesperson for Berman's office told The Daily Beast they stood by the prosecutor's comments,

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specifically the claim that they had "made several attempts to contact" Andrew's representatives.

Andrew, 59, however, was said to be "angry and bewildered," according to The Daily Telegraph, at allegations made by Berman.

On Monday, Berman called out Andrew for giving "zero co-operation" to the investigation into Epstein at a press conference held outside Epstein's infamous front door.

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"Nothing could be further from the truth," a source described as "close to" Andrew told The Telegraph, "The Duke is more than happy to talk to the FBI but he hasn't been approached by them yet.

"He is angry about the way this is being portrayed and bewildered as to why this was said in New York. It seems certain people are jumping the gun."

However law-enforcement sources were adamant that

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they "stood by" Berman's remarks.

Berman said he was taking the rare step of calling Andrew out by name because Andrew himself, in his disastrous Newsnight interview, had said: "I am willing to help any appropriate law-enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."

While many observers saw Berman's remarks as a desperate (and likely unsuccessful) attempt to shame Prince Andrew into living up to his earlier vow, Duncan Levin, a former federal and New York state prosecutor in the Manhattan DA's office, saw something else: evidence of the authorities' determination to leave no

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stone unturned as they go after the rich and powerful global network which Epstein cultivated.

Levin, who is now a managing partner at Tucker Levin, PLLC, told The Daily Beast that while it was "highly unusual for a prosecutor to make a public statement about a witness's reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement" there is "nothing usual about this case, in any way. Prince Andrew is not your typical witness, by any stretch of the imagination."

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