🔗 Share this article House Committee Seeks Interview with Prince Andrew in Epstein Probe A American legislative panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations. In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother help with its investigation. The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to vacate his property in Windsor. Files and Accusations Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. “The oversight committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement. It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship 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 started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said. It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November. Earlier Comments and Cooperation The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not possess the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a overseas individual. In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”. Calls for Transparency The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver justice for the survivors. The committee will not stop pushing for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.” Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.” The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.