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A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Details of the Communication

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

It continued: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the victims. We will not halt fighting for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.