Congressional Panel Requests Questioning with Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a letter released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.
The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.
Content of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Past Comments and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver justice for the affected individuals. We will not stop fighting for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
