House Panel Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A US congressional body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.
The written appeal to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The oversight committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.
Content of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along 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 crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.
Past Comments and Assistance
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Demands for Justice
The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”
Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the current inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
