Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its probe.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 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 co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver justice for the survivors. We will not stop fighting for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this situation.”

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