Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with Andrew in Epstein Probe
A American legislative body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.
The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records obtained 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 abuse.
“The panel will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.
Substance of the Request
“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 added: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply 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 follow up 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 public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.
Demands for Justice
The congressman said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure justice for the survivors. We will not cease pushing for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
