Congressional Panel Requests Deposition with Andrew in Epstein Probe
A American legislative body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.
The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs 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 misconduct.
“The panel will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Content of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “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 secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Statements and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not hold the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The congressman said in a comment that “rich and influential men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease pushing for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this story.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
