Congressional Panel Asks for Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.
The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not hold the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Demands for Accountability
The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure redress for the victims. The committee will not cease fighting for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’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 revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
