Congressional Committee Asks for Questioning with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.
The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The oversight committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the Communication
“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced 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 stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Previous Statements and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this situation.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
