House Panel Asks for Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe

A US congressional panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and opted to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will investigate claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US demands 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 inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. We will not cease advocating for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.