Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A US congressional committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.
The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to vacate his property in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The panel will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Content of the Request
“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” 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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Past Statements and Collaboration
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US officials 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 contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.
Demands for Accountability
The representative said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
