Topics: Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Royal Family, Sex Trafficking, News, US News, UK News
Today (November 20) marks the deadline that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was expected to respond to a request to be questioned by the United States Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Shortly after the King's brother was stripped of all his titles, a US committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein sent a request to the former prince, asking him to cooperate with their investigation.
The former prince has consistently denied any accusations against him.
The committee is investigating the ‘sex-trafficking operations’ of Epstein specifically and has said financial records note a 'massage for Andrew'.
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The letter to Andrew (signed by 16 members of Congress) read: "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 co-operate with the committee's investigation by sitting for a transcribed interview with the committee."
They set today as the deadline to respond to the request.
It appears as if Andrew has not responded to the committee's request. He will not face any legal repercussions for failing to respond, as he is not a US citizen, therefore is not legally obliged to cooperate.
Meanwhile, Congress has wide-ranging subpoena powers that can force American citizens to provide testimony.
While it's unlikely that Andrew will be jetting off to the States anytime soon, even if he did, he could not be forced to give testimony as he's a foreign citizen.
Should Andrew ever cooperate with the investigations in America, it would have been completely voluntary.
Melissa Hamilton, a law and criminal justice professor at the University of Surrey, believes it's unlikely Andrew will ever face Congress.
She wrote for The i Paper earlier this month: "Mountbatten Windsor is unlikely ever to face the US Congress. He has nothing to gain and much to lose. Yet his absence no longer protects him. In the eyes of the public, silence itself has become an admission of sorts."
Elsewhere, Suhas Subramanyam, one of the Democrat members of the House Oversight Committee, has accused Andrew of 'hiding' from them and said that the former senior member of the Royal Family 'will continue to try to hide from people doing meaningful investigations of this matter'.
Subramanyam told The Guardian of their investigation: "It seems like every time we find more evidence, Prince Andrew seems to be in the documents.
"And so I think if he is hoping that the story will just go away by ignoring us and being silent, he will be sorely disappointed, as we continue to pursue this over the next year and beyond."
UNILAD has contacted Andrew's representatives for comment.
