Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation

A US congressional committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

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

“The panel will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Letter

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, 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 strong bond 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 key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Comments and Cooperation

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

However, the congressman does not hold the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this case.”

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