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

A US congressional body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along 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 key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and secure accountability for the victims. We will not stop fighting for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially 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 official public record.