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A American legislative committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

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

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

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

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

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver justice for the victims. The committee will not cease pushing for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”

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