🔗 Share this article House Committee Seeks Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations. In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry. The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor. Records and Allegations Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse. “The panel will probe accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement. It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any wrongdoing. Substance of the Communication “It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said. It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details 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 demands a answer by 20 November. Past Comments and Collaboration The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US agencies 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 lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready 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 “provided absolutely no cooperation”. Appeals for Justice The representative said in a comment that “rich and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver redress for the survivors. The committee will not cease advocating for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.” Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this story.” The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.