House Committee Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its probe.
The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.
Files and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs subpoenaed 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 panel will examine allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Content of the Communication
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.
Earlier Remarks and Assistance
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not hold the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate 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 lawyers 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 assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver justice for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this situation.”
The letter came 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 “royal decree” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
