🔗 Share this article Congressional Committee Asks for Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Probe A US congressional panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities. In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation. The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor. Records and Allegations Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. “The oversight committee will investigate claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement. It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety. Substance of the Letter “It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said. It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November. Earlier Comments and Collaboration The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not have the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”. Appeals for Accountability The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure justice for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.” Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.” The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is further to this story.” The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.