Congressional Panel Seeks Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.
The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Records and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the Request
“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence 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 prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The representative said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang 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 crucial that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’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 publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.