🔗 Share this article

A American legislative panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close 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 went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes 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 demands a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and secure justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this situation.”

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