Prince Andrew reportedly offered to be a witness in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse case but the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused.

In the past, reports claimed that the Duke of York refused to cooperate with the investigations. But his team released a statement saying that this isn’t the case.

The statement released on behalf of Prince Andrew revealed that their reason for not making any public statement regarding their discussions with the US Department of Justice.

They said that they were committed to the confidentiality of the case since it is regarded as best practice in the United Kingdom. They said that their decision to keep things confidential was also done to respect the DOJ’s commitment to confidentiality.

However, since there have been misleading claims about Prince Andrew, his team said that they owe it to the royal to issue a statement clarifying certain misconceptions.

In the statement, they confirmed that the DOJ has been actively investigating the late Epstein and other individuals involved in the case for the past 16 years. On January 2, the DOJ requested for Prince Andrew’s help for the first time.

The DOJ told Sarah Ferguson’s ex-husband that he isn’t and has never been a target of their criminal investigations into Epstein. They also said that they want his confidential and voluntary cooperation.

On three different occasions, Prince Andrew reportedly offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ. But the DOJ reacted to the first two offers by breaching their confidentiality rules and claiming that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s dad offered zero cooperation.

Prince Andrew’s team accused the DOJ of potentially seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance that their client offered.

Prior to the statement, The Sun reported that Prince Andrew was moving into the realms of a criminal investigation. A source told the publication that the DOJ doesn’t make a request of such nature lightly especially if it involves a member of the royal family.

The insider also said that the request puts the United Kingdom and the Duke of York in a very difficult position.

This week, Globe claimed that Prince Andrew tried to flee the United Kingdom but his attempts to go to Qatar were halted after Scotland Yard confronted him.

However, one should take the claims made by the tabloid with a grain of salt. It is unlikely for Prince Andrew to have attempted to flee the country because he’s on lockdown just like everyone else.