🔗 Share this article Congressional Panel Asks for Questioning with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation A US congressional body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities. In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation. The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor. Files and Claims Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records obtained 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 misconduct. “The committee will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release. It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct. Content of the Letter “It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said. It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details 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 demands a response by 20 November. Past Statements and Assistance The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not possess the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands 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 inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”. Demands for Transparency The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.” Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this case.” The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.