Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with Prince Andrew in Epstein Probe
A American legislative panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother help with its probe.
The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any wrongdoing.
Substance of the Letter
“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Previous Remarks and Collaboration
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US officials 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 lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The congressman said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure redress for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this story.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
