🔗 Share this article

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

In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Past Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

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

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

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver justice for the survivors. The committee will not halt pushing for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.