Congressional Panel Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a letter released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.
The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.
Substance of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been claimed 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 young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the ability 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 reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable 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 “offered no cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this case.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
