House Committee Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.
The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The panel will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.
Details of the Communication
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the panel. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals 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 inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and secure accountability for the survivors. We will not halt fighting for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent 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 “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.