🔗 Share this article House Committee Seeks Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation A American legislative body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities. In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation. The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor. Records and Accusations Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. “The oversight committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement. It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct. Details of the Request “It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said. It added: “It has also been claimed 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 minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November. Previous Comments and Assistance The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.” However, the representative does not possess the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national. In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to 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 “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”. Demands for Accountability The representative said in a comment that “rich and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.” Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this case.” The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.