Overview
- British investigators have now filed a Mutual Legal Assistance request after informal appeals failed because the US Justice Department will not share unredacted Epstein files without it.
- Mutual Legal Assistance is a state-to-state process for evidence sharing that involves legal review and diplomacy, and police sources say it can take about 18 months.
- UK prosecutors say redacted copies are not enough to build cases, and they caution that charging decisions are hard to approve without the original documents.
- The inquiries focus on Peter Mandelson and, in a separate probe, Prince Andrew, and both men deny wrongdoing and have not been charged after their arrests on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
- Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the files did not enable US prosecutions, and UK officials now expect a long timeline, with some reports warning decisions could slip well beyond next year without quicker cooperation.