Congressional Panel Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A US congressional panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.
The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to give up his rented residence in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs subpoenaed 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 sexual assault.
“The committee will probe accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The public deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not have the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing 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 “provided no cooperation”.
Calls for Accountability
The representative said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue redress. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is further to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
