Prince Andrew will feel he is “off the hook” after an FBI memo said there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list and there would be no further charges, a biographer told Newsweek.

In a New York civil lawsuit, Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein trafficked her in the early 2000s to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to have sex with the prince when she was 17.

Andrew denied the allegation and settled out of court, paying a substantial sum but admitting no liability. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

The Duke of York was one of the biggest, but by no means the only, high-profile figures accused of participating in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation, with rumors rife on social media of a “client list” detailing the names of famous men Epstein was said to have obtained compromising material on.

Now, a Department of Justice and FBI memo seen by ABC News and Axios appears to confirm that there will be no new charges as a review ordered by President Donald Trump “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

Nigel Cawthorne, the author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, told Newsweek that Andrew would be able to breathe a sigh of relief at the news, having never been charged.

“He’s off the hook isn’t he,” Cawthorne said. “The whole thing’s run out of steam.”

Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008 as part of a plea deal and died in his jail cell while awaiting trial on further charges in 2019. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein entice and abuse young girls.

Elon Musk’s Rift With Donald Trump

While rumors have long circulated about an Epstein client list, they received renewed attention in recent weeks amid billionaire Elon Musk‘s rift with Trump.

During an argument with the president, Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 5: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”

Musk presented no evidence to support his claim and later deleted the post. The DOJ and FBI said in the memo that there was no evidence that Epstein kept a client list.

Cawthorne said some might find Musk’s comment compelling, “Can we just suppose that Elon Musk’s right and that Trump’s on the list?”

Trump has dismissed Musk’s claim, sharing a refutation by David Schoen, Epstein’s former lawyer, on social media.

Schoen wrote: “I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein’s defense as his criminal lawyer 9 days before he died. He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!”

Trump’s Epstein Review

In early 2025, the Trump administration ordered a comprehensive review of the federal government’s records pertaining to Epstein, whose 2019 death by suicide in a New York jail has fueled years of conspiracy theories and public speculation.

The review came amid mounting calls from Trump’s Make America Great Again base for full transparency, and the administration framed it as a decisive move to end public distrust surrounding the high-profile case.

A DOJ spokesperson told ABC News in March: “Under Attorney General [Pam] Bondi’s leadership, the Department of Justice is working relentlessly to deliver unprecedented transparency for the American people.”

And Bondi herself said at the time, “We will get out as much as we can, as fast as we can to the American people.”

Prince Andrew’s History With the FBI

In 2020, the FBI sought Andrew’s testimony as a witness, and his lawyers stressed that he was not viewed as a target of the investigation.

Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York at the time, submitted a formal request to the U.K. Home Office to force Andrew to testify under oath, though no official confirmation was ever given about whether his evidence was forthcoming.

Andrew’s lawyers at Blackfords said in a statement in June 2020: “Importantly, the DOJ advised us that the Duke is not and has never been a ‘target’ of their criminal investigations into Epstein and that they sought his confidential, voluntary co-operation.

“In the course of these discussions, we asked the DOJ to confirm that our co-operation and any interview arrangements would remain confidential, in accordance with the ordinary rules that apply to voluntary co-operation with the DOJ.

“We were given an unequivocal assurance that our discussions and the interview process would remain confidential.

“The Duke of York has on at least three occasions this year offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ.”

Berman replied: “Today, Prince Andrew yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to cooperate with an ongoing federal criminal investigation into sex trafficking and related offenses committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, even though the Prince has not given an interview to federal authorities, has repeatedly declined our request to schedule such an interview, and nearly four months ago informed us unequivocally—through the very same counsel who issued today’s release—that he would not come in for such an interview. If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation, our doors remain open, and we await word of when we should expect him.”

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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