House Committee Requests Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry
A American legislative panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.
In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.
The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.
Documents and Allegations
Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.
“The committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.
It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.
Content of the Communication
“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.
It continued: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence 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, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”
A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.
Past Statements and Collaboration
The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.
In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US demands 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 legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.
“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.
Demands for Transparency
The congressman said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”
Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”
The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”
The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.
