Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.
The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and consented to give up his rented residence in Windsor.
Records and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The committee will probe accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.
Details of the Request
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled 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 offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Earlier Comments and Assistance
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not possess the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Calls for Transparency
The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this situation.”
The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.
