Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor fails to respond to summons to testify before US Congress
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor did not respond to a formal summons to testify before the US government about his friendship with late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The former prince is accused of “hiding” from US officials at the House Oversight Committee, one of the most powerful committees in the US Congress and responsible for investigations, monitoring and accountability across the federal government.
On November 6, the committee requested that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor sit for a “written interview” about his connections to Epstein and gave him until Thursday, November 20, to respond.
However, according to reports, he did not respond.
Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat who sits on the committee, said this week that the former duke “has been hiding from us, and I think he will continue to hide from people who are doing meaningful research on this issue.”
“It seems like every time we find more evidence, Prince Andrew appears in the documents,” he added.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has faced mounting pressure from US lawmakers to answer questions about his well-documented friendship with Epstein. Some Democrats had previously suggested he might even speak via video link and accompanied by a lawyer.
Although powerful, the committee does not have the authority to coerce testimony from individuals who are not U.S. citizens and reside abroad, nor can it issue coercive subpoenas to foreign nationals who are outside U.S. jurisdiction. As a result, there is no legal obligation for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to cooperate.
With the former prince not responding to their calls, it’s unclear what U.S. lawmakers might choose to do next. However, Mr. Subramanyam suggested that the matter would be dropped due to the disgraced royal’s lack of response.
“If he hopes that by ignoring us and keeping quiet the story will end, he will be sorely disappointed as we continue to do so next year and beyond,” he warned.
In 2022, the former prince reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein survivor who accused him of sexual assault and rape, without admitting any wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has always maintained that the allegations are false and has previously resisted attempts by US prosecutors and lawyers for Epstein’s victims to cooperate.
But recent damaging newspaper allegations include that he tried to get the Metropolitan Police to dig up dirt for a smear campaign against Ms Giuffre.
The force has previously said it would review the reports Mail on Sunday The newspaper alleged that in 2011 Ms. Giuffre passed her date of birth and Social Security number to her taxpayer-funded bodyguard and asked him to investigate.
Accordingly Telegram“Sources close to him” suggested Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was chosen to ease pressure on other high-profile figures whose names are said to be included in the soon-to-be-released Epstein files.
After US President Donald Trump signed a bill earlier this week to release the Epstein files, all evidence collected during two investigations into Epstein is now legally required to be made public by the US government within 30 days.
While some of the evidence will be redacted due to issues such as protecting the identities of victims and potentially compromising active criminal investigations, the bill also states that “no records shall be withheld, delayed, or removed based on embarrassment, loss of reputation, or political sensitivity, including those of any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
Independent He contacted Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s representatives for comment.
