Congressional Committee Seeks Questioning with Prince Andrew in Epstein Probe
A US congressional body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Records and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.
Details 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 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed 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 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 confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Past Comments and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the power to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a foreign national.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.
Demands for Justice
The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
