House Panel Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.
The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.
Details of the Request
“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details 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 demands a answer by 20 November.
Previous Comments and Cooperation
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to follow up 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 fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop pushing for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is further to this situation.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally 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 public registry.
