🔗 Share this article House Committee Requests Questioning with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation A US congressional panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings. In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry. The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor. Documents and Allegations Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. “The oversight committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement. It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing. Details of the Communication “It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said. It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November. Earlier Statements and Collaboration The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.” However, the representative does not possess the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”. Demands for Accountability The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.” Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this story.” The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.