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A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

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

The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

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

Content of the Communication

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

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply 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 inquire on his earlier promise 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 zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the victims. The committee will not cease fighting for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this case.”

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