Congressional Panel Asks for Deposition with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry

A American legislative committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.

Past Statements and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.