House Panel Seeks Questioning with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe

A American legislative body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.

The written appeal to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the wrongdoings 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 asks a answer by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “rich and well-connected men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.