🔗 Share this article

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

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

The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records 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 investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the panel. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.