Congressional Panel Asks for Questioning with Andrew in Epstein Probe
A American legislative panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.
The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to give up his property in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the Request
“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Collaboration
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the oversight committee. The citizens should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The representative said in a statement that “rich and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
