House Panel Requests Interview with Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A US congressional body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, 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 follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.
Files and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The oversight committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.
Details of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.
Previous Statements and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The public deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not possess the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire 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 pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure justice for the victims. We will not stop advocating for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – 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.
