Congressional Panel Requests Interview with Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.
The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.
Content of the Request
“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled 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 harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not possess the authority to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check 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 followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The congressman said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and provide justice for the survivors. The committee will not halt fighting for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this situation.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.