🔗 Share this article

A American legislative panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs obtained 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 misconduct.

“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s network, network, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any misconduct.

Details of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed 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 lawyers to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.