Congressional Panel Requests Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation

A US congressional body investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs 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 sexual assault.

“The committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the authority to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials 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 lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable 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”.

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure accountability for the survivors. The committee will not cease advocating for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.