House Panel Requests Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will investigate claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined 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 key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver accountability for the survivors. The committee will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally 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 royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.