House Committee Requests Questioning with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother assist with its inquiry.
The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The oversight committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Details of the Letter
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials 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 prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure accountability for the victims. The committee will not stop advocating for responsibility and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.