Breakaway Republican Thomas Massie used congressional privilege on Monday (local time) to accuse Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, of committing sex crimes in the United States.
Massey, from the same party as US President Donald Trump, made the comment during a speech in the House of Representatives about the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted,” Massie said.
“And Prince Andrew, who committed sex crimes in the United States.
“Perhaps hearing these names will shame the Department of Justice into delivering justice.”
Mountbatten-Windsor, who is King Charles III’s brother, was stripped of his royal titles last year. He has always denied committing sexual offences and has never been charged with any crime relating to the allegations.
Under US law, members of Congress cannot be prosecuted over statements they make in the House of Representatives or Senate, meaning they can speak without fear of court action. Similar protections exist in Australia.
Thomas Massie, left, has worked with Democrats to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.
AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS
Trump has criticised Massie, a long-time campaigner for survivors sexually abused by Epstein or his friends, who has been among those leading bipartisan efforts to hold perpetrators to account.
The president earlier this year described his political colleague as a “bum” and “the worst Republican Congressman in history”.
A congressional panel investigating Epstein’s crimes summoned Mountbatten-Windsor in November last year to give evidence. However, it does not have the power to compel the former royal, who lives in England, to testify.
“Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, former prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors,” Congressman Robert Garcia said at the time.
Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, has been described as a close friend of Epstein’s between 1999 and 2008.
Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in Western Australia in 2025, had alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to Mountbatten-Windsor as a teenager, and that the then-Duke of York had sexually abused her.
He denies any wrongdoing.
Mountbatten-Windsor stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid a deluge of public pressure, after a disastrous interview with the BBC’s Newsnight programme, in which he maintained his innocence in the face of those allegations.
Virginia Giuffre is pictured with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was a teenager.
HANDOUT / AFP
Last year, Giuffre’s posthumously released memoir went on sale. In it, she alleged Mountbatten Windsor “believed having sex with me was his birthright”. She claimed she met the former prince on multiple occasions, including at an orgy on Epstein’s private island.
Epstein died by suicide in a US prison in 2019.
British police investigating Mountbatten-Windsor in May asked witnesses who believe they have information about alleged sexual misconduct to contact them.
The former royal is also being investigated over alleged misconduct in public office, which relates to his time as a UK trade commissioner.
Mountbatten-Windsor has been accused of sharing confidential government information with Epstein, something he also denies.