House Committee Requests Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.
The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The panel will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.
Details of the Letter
“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went 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 alleged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.
Calls for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is more to this case.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.