🔗 Share this article

A US congressional panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will probe accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.

Details of the Communication

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

It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Statements and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The public should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant 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”.

Calls for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver accountability for the victims. The committee will not halt fighting for answerability and openness for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors show there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly removed 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 royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.