Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation

A American legislative panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled 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 charged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Remarks and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the oversight committee. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable 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 “provided zero cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this story.”

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