House Panel Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A US congressional committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.
In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.
The formal request 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 Claims
Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The panel will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Content of the Communication
“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Past Remarks and Collaboration
The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not have the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.
In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check 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 fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.
Calls for Accountability
The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop pushing for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this case.”
The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.