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, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its inquiry.
The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs obtained 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 abuse.
“The panel will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term 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 jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Collaboration
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply 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 attorneys to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a comment that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide redress for the affected individuals. We will not stop pushing for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this situation.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
