Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry

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

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused 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 suspicion that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Comments and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide accountability for the victims. The committee will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.