🔗 Share this article

A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother assist with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

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

“The oversight committee will probe accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “wealthy and influential men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and provide accountability for the victims. The committee will not cease fighting for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.