Congressional Committee Seeks Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation
A US congressional committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.
The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.
Records and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The oversight committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Content of the Letter
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence 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 accomplices.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.
Past Statements and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The public deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Calls for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a comment that “wealthy and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of partners.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked 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 monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.