🔗 Share this article Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Inquiry A American legislative body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities. In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation. The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to surrender his property in Windsor. Records and Accusations Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. “The panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement. It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety. Details of the Communication “It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said. It added: “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 secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.” A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November. Previous Remarks and Assistance The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.” However, the representative does not hold the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to follow up 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 honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”. Calls for Accountability The congressman said in a announcement that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt pushing for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.” Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this story.” The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.