Congressional Committee Seeks Questioning with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A US congressional committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.
The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The panel will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Assistance
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond 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 “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Calls for Transparency
The representative said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. We will not stop pushing for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
