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A American legislative body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

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

Details of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop pushing for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.