Congressional Panel Seeks Interview with Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative committee looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.
The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.
Details of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Past Comments and Cooperation
The letter arrives 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 lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.
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 prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.
Calls for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
