Members of the US Congress have written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor seeking an interview with him in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The committee on oversight and government reform, which is investigating the late financier’s “sex trafficking operations” and the US government’s handling of the case, said it had identified “financial records containing notations such as ‘massage for Andrew’ that raise serious questions”.
In its letter to Andrew, it cited “well-documented allegations” involving the former prince and accuser Virginia Giuffre, and a recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which Andrew told him, “we are in this together”.
The committee said this “further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators”, and asks for a response by 20 November.
It follows new allegations against the former prince in Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. She alleges Andrew had sex with her three times while she was trafficked by Epstein. He strenuously denies the claims.
The letter, signed by 16 members of Congress and addressed to Royal Lodge in Windsor, reads: “The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers, and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations.
“Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation.
“In the interest of justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we request that you cooperate with the committee’s investigation by sitting for a transcribed interview with the committee.”
The request is not a subpoena, which would compel Andrew to give evidence, but a request made on behalf of committee members.
It comes after the former Duke of York was formally stripped of his titles by his brother King Charles on Thursday. Last week, Buckingham Palace announced Andrew would be evicted from his home at Royal Lodge and have his HRH and prince titles removed.
Members of the committee have previously called on Andrew to come forward and answer questions over his friendship with Epstein in the US. Last week, the BBC reported that at least four Democrats had renewed calls for Andrew to testify, with some even suggesting he could do so over video link and with a lawyer present.
Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer representing some of the victims of Epstein, also called for Andrew to testify.
He told BBC News: “We need to hear his story and hear what he is saying about what occurred, but also he could testify about other potential co-conspirators that he saw that may have been present at the mansions here in the States that were doing inappropriate activities.
“So on both fronts, both on behalf of other victims, but potentially on behalf of himself, we would like Andrew to come here and testify.”
UK trade minister Chris Bryant has also previously told the BBC he believes Andrew should go to the US to answer questions about Epstein.
“I think that just as with any ordinary members of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” he said. “So I feel exactly the same in this situation.
“What I’m basically saying is that I think that if Andrew is asked to do something by a Senate committee, then I would have thought that he would want to comply.”
