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A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly 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 sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Justice

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver redress for the victims. The committee will not stop pushing for responsibility and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is more to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.