Congressional Committee Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Probe
A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.
The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.
Records and Accusations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.
“The committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.
It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.
Content of the Letter
“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.
It stated further: “It has also been alleged 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 accused of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.
Past Comments and Collaboration
The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the congressman does not hold the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.
“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.
Appeals for Accountability
The representative said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver redress for the survivors. The committee will not halt pushing for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”
Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”
The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is more to this case.”
The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
