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A US congressional committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed 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 abuse.

“The panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

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

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief 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 reply by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease pushing for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.