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A American legislative committee probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

“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 sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.

Previous Remarks and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies 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 authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver redress for the affected individuals. We will not stop pushing for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.