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A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars 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 repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 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 crimes 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 demands a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not hold the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate 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 legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt advocating for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is more to this case.”

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