Congressional Committee Seeks Questioning with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A American legislative panel probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.
The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The oversight committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices 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 relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Substance of the Communication
“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the panel. The public has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and provide justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this case.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.