House Panel Asks for Deposition with Andrew in Epstein Investigation
A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.
The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.
Documents and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The oversight committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.
Substance of the Request
“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses 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 Collaboration
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not have the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Justice
The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure accountability for the survivors. We will not cease advocating for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”
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 essential that Andrew assists with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this situation.”
The letter was issued 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 “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
