House Committee Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Probe
A US congressional body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.
In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Records and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will probe claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Content of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a foreign national.
In 2020, US authorities 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 authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Transparency
The congressman said in a comment that “wealthy and influential men have avoided accountability 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 halt pushing for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
