>Prince Andrew has hired Britain’s “most formidable” extradition lawyer to protect him against an FBI inquiry into his late pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports.
The Duke of York was publicly slammed by US authorities in January for repeatedly failing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking ring.
He is still so worried about being forced to talk, he is now hiring an “eminent team of lawyers” to “fend off” the FBI, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The 60-year-old royal’s legal team is led by Clare Montgomery, one of the UK’s leading extradition lawyers who has represented world leaders, including former dictator Augusto Pinochet, the Telegraph says.
Montgomery charges $1,300-an-hour and has been described as “the most formidable member of the bar,” the Telegraph said, referring to a chamber of the British legal system.
Andrew also directly hired Gary Bloxsome, a criminal defense solicitor who works international cases — and is a crisis-management specialist, the Telegraph says. “He’s as sharp as a blade, he’s absolutely brilliant,” one acquaintance told the paper.
Assembling the team shows just how “hugely seriously” the duke is taking the threat of legal moves to make him talk, says the Telegraph, which believes it is the first time the royal family has needed to use such a powerful team of criminal lawyers.
Andrew was forced to step down from royal duties last November over his disastrous attempts to justify his ongoing friendship with Epstein even after he was convicted of sex crimes.
