House Panel Asks for Interview with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation

A US congressional committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

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

“The panel will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars 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 Request

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed 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 accused of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to appear before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities 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 lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. We will not halt pushing for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.