Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A US congressional committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.
The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes 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 requests a answer by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not hold the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his public commitment that he was “ready 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 zero cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide accountability for the survivors. The committee will not cease fighting for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed redress. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
