Congressional Committee Requests Questioning with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A American legislative body investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.
The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The oversight committee will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Substance of the Request
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Previous Statements and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure justice for the survivors. We will not halt fighting for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this situation.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
