The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the UK has prompted calls from US lawmakers and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse across the Atlantic for accountability for those associated with the late sex offender.
Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, was detained on Thursday in connection with his conduct as UK trade ambassador and the revelation of emails relating to disgraced banker and convicted sex offender Epstein. He was released under investigation Thursday evening after police questioned him about allegations he shared confidential material with Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein, and Thursday’s arrest was not related to any allegation of sexual misconduct.
Reacting to the arrest, Skye Roberts, brother of the late Virginia Giuffre – accused of being trafficked to the UK aged 17 in 2001 for sex with Mountbatten-Windsor, an allegation he repeatedly and vehemently denied: “Actually I think the UK is doing a lot more. What I can do…’ While here in the United States, our president hasn’t even remotely done it and the survivors And people are very disappointed.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump described Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest as “disgraceful” and “very sad”.
Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said: “I can talk about it because I’m an expert because I’m completely innocent … I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s very bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad. It’s very sad for me.”
On Thursday, Republican Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky – who co-sponsored the legislation with California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna to press the Justice Department to release millions of files related to Epstein – called for action in the US.
“Prince Andrew was just arrested. This is the metric I established for the success of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which @RepRoKhanna and I passed,” Massey wrote on X.
He urged US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to “take action,” saying, “We need justice in the United States now.”
Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, issued a similar statement: “The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is an enormous step forward in our fight for justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes. Act.”
Lawmakers have asked Mountbatten-Windsor to come to the US to testify about her relationship with Epstein.
Like Garcia, Suhas Subramaniam, another Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee, said in X: “Our investigation on the Oversight Committee led to real accountability for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the UK. Now, we need justice and accountability in the United States.”
In an exclusive interview on MS Now, Subrahmanyam added: “I’m very happy that it’s happening and there should be more. And frankly, it’s happening in Europe, but it’s not happening enough in the United States.”
New Mexico’s Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury echoed similar sentiments: “Today the former Prince Andrew was arrested. [alleged] Crimes associated with Epstein. In 1647 he was the first royal to be arrested since the English Civil War. Think about it. And yet, here in the United States, the President and the DOJ are engaged in a cover-up, refusing to investigate crimes that have been buried for decades. It’s time to prosecute!
Meanwhile, Republican Representative Nancy Mays of South Carolina said: “Months ago we called for the arrest of Prince Andrew. And today, justice was served. Four Republicans refused to budge, refused to fold and put the Epstein files in the spotlight, leaving the powerful nowhere to hide.”
She said: “Today sends a clear message: no one is above the law.”
According to documents recently released by the Justice Department, Mountbatten-Windsor was on the radar of US law enforcement for 15 years before his arrest.
A survivor, Maria Farmer, was the first to report on Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking – only the beginning of accountability and justice today by Virginia Roberts Giuffre – Let a young mother who adored her daughter so powerfully now seek to protect her daughter. The dominoes of power and corruption begin to fall.
Similarly, survivor Marijke Chartouni said: “If only the US Department of Justice would act decisively. It has taken British police less than three weeks since the release of the latest section of the Epstein files to investigate, making Pam Bondi and Kash Patel look even more incompetent.”
