Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.
The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.
Files and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.
“The oversight committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship 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 widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled 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 accused 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 confirms our suspicion that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the representative does not possess the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The congressman said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law 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 pushing for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
