House Committee Requests Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern 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 co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver redress for the victims. The committee will not cease fighting for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.