🔗 Share this article

A US congressional body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to answer questions comes 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 is listed in documents and aviation records 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 abuse.

“The panel will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.

Previous Remarks and Assistance

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

However, the congressman does not have the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another supporter, 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 cooperates with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.