Democrats on US congressional panel request interview with former Prince Andrew on Epstein links

By Christian Edwards, CNN

London (CNN) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are requesting that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor come to Washington to be questioned as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices.

In a letter to Andrew on Thursday – published soon after he was formally stripped of his “Royal Highness” style and “Prince” title – the lawmakers asked that he submit himself to questioning to “provide insight into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators.” The lawmakers ask Andrew to sit for a transcribed interview and ask that he provide a response by November 20.

“Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee. “Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors.”

The request for an interview comes a week after King Charles III began a process to strip his younger brother of his titles and honors and evict him from the royal estate at Windsor, seeming to cap Andrew’s yearslong fall from grace over the depth of his ties to Epstein.

Andrew will likely decline the request from the Republican-controlled committee. Even with bi-partisan support, the committee would struggle to compel Andrew’s participation. But without Congressional Republicans signing on, the Democrats cannot even take the step of issuing a subpoena — which offers legal weight to force a person to appear.

Nonetheless, the letter underscores how the removal of Andrew’s title as prince will do little to deter those on both sides of the Atlantic seeking justice for Epstein’s alleged victims.

Andrew’s name appears in financial records and documents subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and published by the committee, including in notations such as “massages for Andrew,” which the committee said “raise serious questions” about the nature of his relationship with the billionaire pedophile.

He has also been accused by Virginia Giuffre – who died by suicide in April – of sexually abusing her when she was just 17. In her posthumous memoir, Giuffre wrote that Andrew “believed that having sex with me was his birthright.”

Despite claiming never to have met her, Andrew reportedly paid millions of dollars to Giuffre in 2022 to settle a civil case she brought against him. He has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

In her memoir, published last month, Giuffre wrote that she feared retaliation if she made allegations against Andrew, claiming that the settlement restricted her to a one-year gag order designed to protect the royal family’s reputation.

She also claimed that Andrew’s “team” tried to hire “internet trolls” to hassle her while he hid behind the “well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers by her lawyers.

Earlier in October, London’s Metropolitan Police said it was investigating reports in the British media that Andrew asked his police protection to “dig up dirt” on Giuffre in 2011.

As well as investigating alleged abuse committed by Epstein and his circle, the committee said it was also probing efforts to “silence, intimidate, or threaten victims,” citing the Met’s investigation as another reason for wanting to question Andrew. It asked that he provide a response to the committee by November 20.

Royal sources told CNN that the committee’s request is a matter for Andrew, for whom Buckingham Palace does not speak or act.

Andrew’s summoning comes a day after the UK’s official public record showed that he has been formally stripped of his “Prince” title. He is also preparing to leave Royal Lodge, where he has lived since 2003. Royal sources have told CNN that Andrew will be given a house on the King’s private estate in Sandringham, Norfolk, and that he is expected to move after the Christmas holidays.

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CNN’s Max Foster contributed reporting.