Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.
The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Documents and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The panel will probe claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Content 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 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Assistance
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.
Demands for Justice
The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the survivors. The committee will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
