The Royal family‘s reputation is ‘on the line’ over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, a US congressman said last night.
Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat, said that he hoped King Charles would ‘do the right thing’ and hold his brother Andrew Mountbatten Windsor ‘accountable’ for his friendship with the paedophile.
Speaking outside Capitol Hill, Rep Melanie Stansbury, another Democrat, said that Epstein had been a ‘national security risk’ to the UK.
In an apparent reference to Peter Mandelson, who sent British government documents to Epstein while he was in office, Rep Stansbury called for an investigation into anyone who shared information with the late financier.
The Representatives spoke out as US Attorney General Pam Bondi, the top prosecutor in America, appeared before Congress to answer questions about the Epstein case.
Outside the hearing, several of Epstein’s survivors attacked the Department of Justice’s handling of the release of three million Epstein documents last month.
They included the family of the late Virginia Giuffre, who claimed Epstein loaned her to Andrew for sex three times when she was 17.
Rep Subramanyam took aim at the royal family and said they needed to do more: earlier this week Buckingham Palace said that the King felt ‘profound concern’ for the allegations against his brother.
Representative Suhas Subramanyam said the Royal family’s reputation is ‘on the line’ over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal
The King also promised to cooperate with the Thames Valley Police’s investigation into claims that an Epstein victim was sent by the paedophile to Royal Lodge, Andrew’s former residence, for sex with him in 2010.
Rep Subramanyam said: ‘In terms of King Charles the family’s reputation is on the line so I hope they do the right thing by letting the authorities hold Andrew accountable for anything he did’.
Rep Subramanyam said that he still wanted Andrew to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
So far the former prince has not responded to those requests.
Rep Subramanyam said: ‘The victims have said justice has many forms and one of them is the reputations and titles of many of these people involved in these crimes so their reputation is on the line right now.’
Rep Stansbury said that Epstein’s crimes needed further investigation because they went well beyond sex trafficking and included money laundering.
They also included ‘potential influence peddling of state secrets to foreign governments,’ she said, adding that ‘we still don’t understand the nature of his intelligence work’.
She said: ‘It’s not only a stain on the reputation of all world leaders, there were leaders in association with Epstein and his sexual crimes but it’s a national security risk.
Rep Melanie Stansbury said that Epstein’s crimes needed further investigation because they went well beyond sex trafficking and included money laundering
‘What’s happened in the UK is Jeffrey Epstein was a national security risk to the UK and the individuals who may have intentionally or inadvertently shared information be held accountable’.
Rep Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, made an apparent reference to Sir Keir Starmer, who is under intense pressure for appointing Mandelson as US ambassador
She said: ‘Around the world, princes, ambassadors and even prime ministers are being brought down for their participation in this global sex trafficking ring’.
She added that Epstein’s associates ‘absolutely believed they were above the law’.