House Committee Seeks Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded 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 consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.
Substance of the Request
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started 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 added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes 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 asks a response by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a foreign national.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US appeals for an discussion. 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 follow up on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The representative said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and deliver redress for the victims. We will not stop advocating for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
