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A American legislative body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices 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 relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Past Comments and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not have the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected 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 lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and influential men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and provide justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.