House Committee Requests Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The oversight committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any misconduct.
Content of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started 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 went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 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 offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
