US Lawmakers Urge Sarah Ferguson to Testify on Epstein Ties Under Oath

Documents released by the Department of Justice suggest that by 2009, Sarah Ferguson was describing herself to Jeffrey Epstein as "very traumatised and alone" — and apparently took her daughters to lunch with him in Miami days after he left prison. Now members of the US House Oversight Committee want her to answer for all of it, under oath.

US lawmakers called on Sarah Ferguson to testify under oath to the House Oversight Committee about her links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The letter sent to Ferguson, seen by the BBC, also called on her to share any knowledge about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's links to Epstein. US officials have repeatedly called on her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, but have not received any response. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, a member of the House Oversight Committee investigating Epstein's prosecution, said the former duchess had "information related to the investigation" and that "Sarah Ferguson should give sworn testimony to our committee."

There is no legal mechanism to compel Ferguson to testify in the US, but Subramanyam told the BBC that lawmakers would be "happy to work out terms that work for her," as long as she was under oath. Subramanyam told the Mail on Sunday that "it is clear from the files we have that Sarah Ferguson and Jeffrey Epstein had a close relationship."

The calls for her to testify intensified after the release of the Epstein files earlier this year, in which she appears to feature prominently. One message from June 14 that year saw her signing off as "Sarah" and begging for commercial advice on her charity work, while days later, on July 27, she planned a lunch at his Palm Beach home with Beatrice, then 21, and Eugenie, then 19, with Epstein still under house arrest for his crimes. Emails released as part of the three million "Epstein Files" also reveal she repeatedly asked Epstein for cash.

Subramanyam's calls were echoed by Democratic Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, who urged anyone with information of wrongdoing by Epstein and his associates to cooperate. "If Ferguson or any member of their family has such information, our responsibility is to follow the facts wherever they lead," she told the BBC.

The family of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre also said they "strongly believed" the former Duchess of York should go to the US to answer questions. "If Ferguson knows anything, she should testify in the United States immediately," a representative for Giuffre's brother Sky Roberts told the BBC.

Gloria Allred, a prominent lawyer representing some of Epstein's victims, told the BBC that the new revelations make it clear Ferguson was "not a victim in this story. While many individuals who are named in the Epstein files are able to claim that they had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes against children when they associated with him, that is not a defense that Sarah Ferguson is able to assert." Allred added that it was "long overdue" for Ferguson to volunteer to testify under oath before Congress, and she urged Ferguson to speak with UK police as well.

There is no legal mechanism that would compel Ferguson, a British citizen, to give testimony before a US congressional committee, meaning any appearance would be voluntary. Sworn testimony before Congress is an entirely different matter from a media interview: lying to Congress is a federal crime, which is precisely why lawmakers are insisting that any cooperation happen under oath and say they are willing to negotiate the format and terms to make it work for her.

Jonathan Coad, a media lawyer who has represented Ferguson in defamation and privacy cases in the past, said there was "no chance" she would go to the US. "It would be a disaster for her, for her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, and also for Andrew, as it would show him up for not going," he said. Ferguson's representatives declined to comment. Ferguson has stated in the past her regret at being associated with Epstein, saying: "I would never have anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again. I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children. It was a gigantic error of judgment."

Ferguson lost her duchess title when her ex-husband relinquished his Duke of York title over his links with Epstein, and she was also forced to move out of his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, where the couple had lived together despite having divorced in 1996. Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges; his death was ruled a suicide, though it has remained a source of controversy and ongoing scrutiny.

There is no confirmed timeline for any testimony, and given that Ferguson cannot be legally compelled to appear, the next move is effectively hers to make.