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A US congressional panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and consented to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs 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 misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Collaboration

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

However, the congressman does not have the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.

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 reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver redress for the survivors. The committee will not halt pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this story.”

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