Congressional Committee Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.
The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Files and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond 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 legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the victims. We will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is further to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.