House Committee Requests Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.
The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to give up his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters 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 endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up 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 honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide accountability for the affected individuals. We will not stop pushing for responsibility and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.