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A American legislative committee probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its inquiry.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and consented to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The citizens has the right to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The congressman said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.