PRINCE Andrew’s phone calls, text messages and emails with paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein are being demanded by lawyers acting for the dead tycoon’s victims.
Court papers also call upon the royal – who has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing – to say whether he “engaged in any sexual act while at any of Epstein’s properties”.
But the Mirror reports that demands from Epsteins’ vicims have been dismissed by one of Prince Andrew’s mates as a “cynical attempt by US law firms to keep their case in the public eye”.
Court papers are calling for information showing “all texts or emails” and “calls in and calls out” shared between the pals.
The court papers also demand revelations about “telephone data information” and “text or email usage”.
One of Epstein‘s victims, “Priscilla Doe”, has issued the new demand on the dead pervert’s estate via her lawyer.
A spokesman for the royal declined to comment.
Epstein was arrested on new sex trafficking charges last year and was found hanged in an apparent suicide while in jail awaiting trial.
Multiple civil suits
Prince Andrew is being pursued by several lawyers representing Epstein victims who are pushing civil suits against Epstein’s estate.
Reuters reported in January that those lawyers could choose to bring their request to a British high court, asking for an examiner take a statement from the royal or pursue other ways to obtain his evidence.
So far they are only making public calls for him to make himself available and threatening to subpoena Andrew if he travels to the US.
Pressure on Prince Andrew increased earlier this year after the revelation by US authorities that he has failed to cooperate with the FBI’s investigation into his ties with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The complex legal situation may make Andrew reluctant to visit America where his evidence is sought on both criminal and civil cases, but lawyers say it’s unlikely to restrict his travel to other countries.
Lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents five of Epstein’s alleged sexual trafficking victims, said in January that it was time for Andrew “to stop playing games and to come forward to do the right thing and answer questions.”
Bloom said her clients were “outraged and disappointed at Prince Andrew’s behaviour.”
Buckingham Palace and his legal team maintained a “no comment” policy one day after US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said Andrew had provided “zero cooperation” to the FBI and the US prosecutors seeking to speak with him about Epstein.
The statement from Berman, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, was the first official confirmation that America’s leading law enforcement agency had sought – and failed – to obtain evidence from Andrew.
This was despite his pledge last November that he would cooperate with legitimate law enforcement agencies.
The US decision to make the prince’s silence public may also be part of a strategy to increase public calls for him to cooperate.
Andrew is being sought for questioning as a witness who may be able to shed light on the illegal activities of Epstein.
There’s no indication that US officials are pursuing criminal charges against the prince.
The FBI has only limited ways to try to convince him to give evidence.
In March, Reuters reported that Prince Andrew had declined to cooperate with the American investigation into possible co-conspirators of deceased financier and accused sex trafficker Epstein.
‘Shut the door’
US Attorney Geoffrey Berman told reporters last month: “Contrary to Prince Andrew’s very public offer to cooperate with our investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirators, an offer that was conveyed via press release, [he] has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation and our office is considering its options.”
The prince’s lawyers had said Andrew would not submit voluntarily to an interview, according to Berman’s spokesman, James Margolin.
HOAR Online reported a few days ago that Epstein’s estate and 17 of the paedo’s victims have entered settlement talks.
These women have agreed to participate in a Victim Compensation Fund that will assess each claim before issuing a payout within 90 days.
HOAR has obtained legal filings which state that the 12 women represented by Jordan K. Merson of Merson Law and five women working with Lisa Bloom of The Bloom Firm agreed to the parameters of the Fund.
Any of the women who agree to participate in the Fund will have to sign a four-page contract that states they can never again file legal action against the Epstein estate and co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn.
This agreement does not, however, prohibit the women from suing individuals they may have been trafficked to while being abused by Epstein.
That means at least one woman, Virginia Roberts, could file a lawsuit against Prince Andrew.
Roberts claims she was trafficked to Prince Andrew and has provided a photo of her and the royal at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell, but the Prince has strenuously denied her claim and suggested the image of them is photoshopped.
The Fund also allows the women to remain anonymous should they wish, but they are also not barred from speaking about their compensation or allegations against Epstein.
