🔗 Share this article House Committee Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Epstein Probe A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities. In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its probe. The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor. Files and Allegations Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records obtained 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 oversight committee will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement. It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct. Substance of the Request “It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said. It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November. Earlier Comments and Assistance The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The people has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not possess the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national. In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared 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 absolutely no cooperation”. Calls for Accountability The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and deliver justice for the survivors. The committee will not halt pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.” Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this story.” The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.