House Committee Asks for Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry
A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.
The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records secured 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 abuse.
“The panel will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any impropriety.
Details of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses 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 asks a answer by 20 November.
Previous Statements and Cooperation
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. The committee will not halt pushing for answerability and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
