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A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records subpoenaed 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 sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Comments and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed 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 approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable 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 “given zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop pushing for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

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

The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.