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A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Details of the Request

“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 trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the victims. The committee will not stop advocating for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.