House Committee Seeks Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Probe
A US congressional panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked 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 royal title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed 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 victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.
Substance of the Communication
“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The public has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The representative said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors suggest there is further to this story.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
