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A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

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

It continued: “It has also been reported that you went 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 assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Assistance

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

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire 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 fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The congressman said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt advocating for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this situation.”

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