House Panel Asks for Questioning with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry

A American legislative panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother help with its probe.

The official demand to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home 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, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The people deserves to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and secure justice for the survivors. The committee will not halt pushing for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

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

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.