🔗 Share this article House Panel Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry A American legislative committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings. In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe. The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor. Records and Claims Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse. “The committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement. It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics 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. Substance of the Letter “It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced 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 claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, 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 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 belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.” A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November. Earlier Statements and Assistance The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The citizens should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.” However, the representative does not have the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”. Demands for Justice The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.” Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this case.” The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.