Congressional Panel Seeks Deposition with Andrew in Epstein Probe

A US congressional panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you journeyed 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 abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Past Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The people has the right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.