Congressional Committee Seeks Questioning with Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its inquiry.
The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Records and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs 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 sexual assault.
“The committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.
Content of the Request
“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Assistance
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond 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 lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just 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”.
Appeals for Transparency
The congressman said in a comment that “rich and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this story.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
