A US congressional panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.
The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.
Details of the Communication
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been reported that you journeyed 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 assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship 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 belief that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.
Previous Statements and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The people has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure justice for the affected individuals. We will not halt fighting for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
