House Committee Seeks Questioning with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a letter published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will probe claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Content of the Letter
“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled 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 valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Past Comments and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The public deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any suitable 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 “offered no cooperation”.
Demands for Justice
The congressman said in a comment that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and provide redress for the victims. We will not halt fighting for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors show there is further to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.