Congressional Committee Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation

A American legislative committee looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 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 co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this story.”

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