🔗 Share this article House Committee Requests Questioning with the Duke of York in Epstein Probe A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations. In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother help with its probe. The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor. Documents and Claims Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs subpoenaed 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 misconduct. “The committee will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement. It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety. Content of the Request “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 trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said. It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings 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 asks a response by 20 November. Past Comments and Collaboration The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the representative does not possess the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national. In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment 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 “offered zero cooperation”. Calls for Transparency The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure redress for the victims. The committee will not cease pushing for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.” Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this case.” The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.