House Panel Requests Deposition with Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled 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 alleged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Comments and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate 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 “provided absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the victims. The committee will not halt advocating for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”

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