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A US congressional panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled 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 accused of assaulting underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an discussion. 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 follow up on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. We will not cease pushing for responsibility and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

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

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.