🔗 Share this article

A US congressional panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop advocating for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors 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 officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.