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A US congressional committee looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its inquiry.

The formal request to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“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 soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Past Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “rich and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.