House Panel Requests Deposition with Andrew in Epstein Investigation

A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

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

The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to vacate his rented residence 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 accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Details 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 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure justice for the survivors. The committee will not stop advocating for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

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

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this story.”

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