House Panel Seeks Deposition with Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative body probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.
The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The oversight committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.
Content of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 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 co-conspirators.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Cooperation
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared 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 “given no cooperation”.
Demands for Justice
The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure accountability for the survivors. We will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is further to this case.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
