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A American legislative body probing 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 inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver redress for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.