House Committee Requests Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation

A American legislative body probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. 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 duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have avoided 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 cease fighting for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.