House Committee Requests Questioning with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.
The formal request to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights 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 demands a response by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Collaboration
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.
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 lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide justice for the survivors. We will not cease pushing for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this situation.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
