House Panel Seeks Interview with Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.
The formal request to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Records and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the Request
“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This close relationship 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 suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not hold the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any relevant 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”.
Calls for Justice
The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is more to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
