House Committee Asks for Questioning with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A American legislative body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.
The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to give up his property in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Content of the Letter
“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This close relationship 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 important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Statements and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not hold the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any suitable 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 no cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.