House Panel Requests Questioning with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.
The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The oversight committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.
Content of the Request
“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 procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Past Comments and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate 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 “given zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver justice for the survivors. We will not stop pushing for responsibility and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is further to this case.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.