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A American legislative body investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined 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 important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Justice

The representative said in a comment that “wealthy and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and secure justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.