Congressional Panel Seeks Interview with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A US congressional body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.
The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The panel will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Content of the Letter
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started 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 stated further: “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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The people should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Calls for Transparency
The representative said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and secure accountability for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is more to this case.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
