Congressional Panel Asks for Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation
A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its probe.
The official demand to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any misconduct.
Details of the Letter
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Past Comments and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.
Calls for Justice
The representative said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
