Congressional Panel Seeks Interview with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.
The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.
Content of the Letter
“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange 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 notification regarding the letter said it was supported 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 oversight committee. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
