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A American legislative body looking into 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 criminal operations.

In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.

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

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs 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 sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “rich and well-connected men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt pushing for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is more to this situation.”

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