Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A American legislative committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a letter published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother help with its probe.
The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The oversight committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Details of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The representative said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure accountability for the affected individuals. We will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors show there is further to this story.”
The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
