Congressional Panel Asks for Interview with Andrew in Epstein Probe
A US congressional committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its investigation.
The official demand to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any misconduct.
Substance of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged 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 alleged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not hold the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The representative said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
