🔗 Share this article House Panel Requests Questioning with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe A American legislative panel investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations. In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry. The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor. Records and Claims Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs 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 misconduct. “The committee will examine accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement. It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing. Content of the Letter “It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said. It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November. Past Remarks and Collaboration The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the panel. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not hold the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a foreign national. In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team 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 followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”. Appeals for Transparency The congressman said in a comment that “rich and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and secure accountability for the affected individuals. We will not halt fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.” Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this story.” The letter came on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.