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A US congressional panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.

The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.

Details of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged 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 abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.

Previous Remarks and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. 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 “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair 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”.

Demands for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is more to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.