Congressional Panel Requests Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry

A American legislative committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will probe accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported 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 charged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US requests 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 attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is further to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.