🔗 Share this article Congressional Committee Requests Interview with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation A US congressional committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings. In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe. The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor. Files and Accusations Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct. “The panel will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement. It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing. Details of the Communication “It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said. It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.” A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November. Previous Comments and Cooperation The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the oversight committee. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.” However, the congressman does not hold the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen. In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”. “It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”. Calls for Transparency The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide justice for the victims. The committee will not halt pushing for accountability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.” Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.” The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this story.” The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.