🔗 Share this article

A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.

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.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information 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 vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate 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 “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure redress for the survivors. We will not cease fighting for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is further to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.