House Committee Requests Questioning with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A US congressional committee probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its inquiry.
The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will examine allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.
Content of the Letter
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The representative said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. We will not halt pushing for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this story.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
