House Panel 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, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its inquiry.
The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed 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 allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.
Content of the Letter
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Statements and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not possess the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.
Calls for Accountability
The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver justice for the survivors. We will not halt pushing for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.