🔗 Share this article

A American legislative body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

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

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is further to this situation.”

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