Congressional Panel Seeks Interview with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its inquiry.
The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs secured 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 sexual assault.
“The committee will probe accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the ability to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver redress for the victims. The committee will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this case.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
