Congressional Committee Asks for Deposition with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.
The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Substance of the Communication
“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced 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 reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
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 Assistance
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected 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 follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop pushing for answerability and clarity for victims 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 released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, 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 show there is more to this story.”
The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
