British peer Lord Mandelson has been summoned to testify before Congress about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images
Lord Mandelson has been summoned to appear before the US Congress to testify about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
House Democrats sent a letter to the disgraced British peer on Friday, calling on him to give evidence to the oversight committee as part of their investigation into the paedophile.
In the summons, obtained by the Telegraph, members of Congress say “numerous pieces of evidence have come to light” demonstrating Lord Mandelson’s “close ties to Jeffrey Epstein over the span of multiple years”.
They believe Britain’s former business secretary may hold “critical information” on Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers.
“While you no longer serve as British ambassador to the United States and have stepped down from the House of Lords, it is clear that you possessed extensive social and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein and hold critical information pertaining to our investigation of Epstein’s operations,” the letter, signed by Democrats Suhas Subramanyam and Robert Garcia, reads.
“Given the appalling allegations regarding Epstein’s conduct, we request that you make yourself available for a transcribed interview with committee staff regarding the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
The representatives asked Mandelson to respond by February 27, citing the “urgency and gravity” of their investigation and the need to “uncover the identities of Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers, and understand the full extent of his criminal operations”.
Congress has no legal power to compel the peer to appear before it under oath as he is a foreigner living overseas. It is unclear whether he will accept the invitation.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was summoned in November to give evidence about his relationship with Epstein, but failed to respond to the request.
Mandelson has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, claiming he was kept in the dark about Epstein’s abuse of young girls because he is gay.
“During all the time I was an associate of his, I never saw the wrongdoing. I never saw any evidence of criminal activity,” he said in September. “I never sought, nor did he offer any introductions to women in the way that he allegedly did for others. Perhaps it’s because I’m a gay man.”
He was sacked as ambassador to the US in September after revelations about the extent of his relationship with the paedophile even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The scandal represents a stunning fall from grace for the former Labour grandee, who has served three prime ministers.
Mandelson came to the attention of US politicians after three million documents the US Government held on Epstein were published on January 30.
Among documents were emails that showed Mandelson repeatedly leaked confidential government information to Epstein while serving in Gordon Brown’s Cabinet as business secretary.
Several images released by the justice department showed the peer standing in his underwear next to a woman whose face was redacted. Sky News reported the images were taken in Epstein’s Paris flat.
Democrats referred to both of these points in their letter.
Epstein sent Mandelson some US$75,000 ($124,000) between 2003 and 2004, and in 2009 gave $22,500 to his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, for an osteopathy course, the files show.
The peer said he had “absolutely no recollection or records of receiving” the money, adding: “I think I would remember such a large sum.”
Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on February 1, saying he did not want to cause it “further embarrassment”, and stepped down from the House of Lords.
The Metropolitan Police is currently investigating claims the peer passed sensitive government information to the paedophile.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is also facing questions over his leadership after his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.
Starmer has claimed he was unaware of the “depth” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein before the appointment.
However, civil servants provided the Prime Minister with a “due diligence” dossier on the disgraced peer, containing a detailed explanation of his links to Epstein, in 2024.
On Monday, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking girls to the paedophile, appeared before the committee via video link from prison, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
She stayed silent, pleading her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.
Bill Clinton, the former US President, and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, will testify before Congress on February 26 and February 27. The couple were threatened with a prison sentence for initially refusing to testify.
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