The U.S. Department of Justice filed "mutual legal assistance" (MLA) to request Prince Andrew be made available for questioning as a witness in an inquiry into the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to multiple reports.
An MLA is a method of seeking assistance from another state in an investigation or prosecution of criminal offense.
The Daily Mail reported that Prince Andrew will launch an extraordinary public fight back, claiming to release evidence that he says will show he has been cooperating with U.S. officials.
He is expected to say that the Department of Justice has made false claims that they have faced a wall of silence from him and his team.
Prince Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing over his relationship with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But the MLA request means he could be forced to appear in a UK court as a witness in the case within months.
Screenshot of photo "evidence" of Prince Andrew's acquaintance with Jeffery Epstein that has been circulating online. /CGTN
Prince Andrew says he doesn't remember a woman who has accused him of sexually exploiting her in encounters arranged by Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew told BBC Newsnight in an interview that he has "no recollection" of meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says Epstein paid her 15,000 U.S. dollars after she had sex with the prince in 2001 when she was 17.
Andrew has made similar denials for years but has come under new pressure following Epstein's arrest and suicide last summer in New York.
"I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever," Andrew told the BBC last year.
(Cover photo: Britain's Prince Andrew leaves King Edward VII hospital in London after visiting his father Prince Philip, June 6, 2012. /AP)