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A American legislative panel investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

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

“The committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined 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 co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The people has the right to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The congressman said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. We will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors show there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.