House Panel Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Investigation

A American legislative panel probing 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 inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

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

“The oversight committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 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 crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this situation.”

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