🔗 Share this article

A US congressional body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Details of the Letter

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The people has the right to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “wealthy and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.