Congressional Committee Requests Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Probe

A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to give up his property in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

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

Substance of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern 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 requests a response by 20 November.

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the authority to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide redress for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.