House Panel Requests Questioning with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information 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 always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate 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 recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Collaboration

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

However, the representative does not hold the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US demands for an interview. 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 check 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 “provided zero cooperation”.

Demands for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. We will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.