Congressional Committee Requests Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs secured 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 panel will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Details of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Collaboration
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.
Calls for Accountability
The representative said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for accountability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
