House Panel Asks for Deposition with the Duke of York in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry

A US congressional panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written 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 document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Details of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Remarks and Collaboration

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

However, the congressman does not hold the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate 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 zero cooperation”.

Demands for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide redress for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.