House Committee Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.
The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will investigate claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s network, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Content of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings 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 demands a reply by 20 November.
Previous Statements and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and provide redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this case.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
