🔗 Share this article House Committee Seeks Interview with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry A American legislative panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings. In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry. The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor. Records and Accusations Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. “The oversight committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement. It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing. Content of the Letter “It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said. It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November. Earlier Comments and Cooperation The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not hold the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any appropriate 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”. Demands for Transparency The congressman said in a comment that “rich and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver redress for the affected individuals. We will not cease fighting for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.” Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is more to this case.” The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.