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A American legislative body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The formal request to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs obtained 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 abuse.

“The panel will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 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 wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to follow up 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 honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the victims. We will not halt fighting for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.