Congressional Committee Asks for Questioning with Andrew in Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe accusations 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 press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “prepared 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 “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The congressman said in a comment that “wealthy and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure justice for the victims. The committee will not stop pushing for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.