Congressional Panel Requests Interview with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A US congressional panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.
The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records 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 sexual assault.
“The panel will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s network, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.
Details of the Request
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange 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 asks a response by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Collaboration
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The people deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US authorities 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 lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide justice for the survivors. The committee will not stop fighting for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
