THE deadline has arrived for disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to agree to spill secrets about his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Prince has been ordered to appear before the US Congress to explain his “long-standing friendship” with the convicted sex offender.
The oversight committee in the House of Representatives asked Andrew to sit for a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein and how the government handled his case.
The committee, which is looking into Epstein’s crimes and his wider sex trafficking network, sent Andrew a letter calling for him to say what he knew about the actions of the convicted sex trafficker.
Andrew was given until today, 20 November, to respond.
It is the final chance for the former Duke of York to reveal any secrets he may have about Epstein.
It all comes as Donald Trump signed the bill to force the release of the investigative files on Epstein.
The bill, which has now become a law, requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all files and communications related to late financier – known as the Epstein Files – within 30 days.
It will also require revealing any information about the investigation into Epstein’s death in a federal prison in 2019 – as well as about his madam and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The letter to Andrew, addressed to Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park, outlined his “close relationship” with Epstein and references a recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which Andrew told him “we are in this together”.
It said it had identified “financial records containing notations such as ‘massage for Andrew’ that raise serious questions”.
The letter reads: “The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers, and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations.
“Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation.
“In the interest of justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we request that you cooperate with the committee’s investigation by sitting for a transcribed interview with the committee.”
Andrew and Epstein shared a well-documented friendship for years before the New York financier’s arrest on serious sex trafficking charges.
But he has always denied ever witnessing or suspecting Epstein of committing any crimes.
Inside Andrew and Epstein’s friendship
By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
The former Duke of York is among the biggest names associated with Epstein.
Andrew and Epstein shared a well-documented friendship for some years before the New York financier’s arrest on serious sex trafficking charges.
Andrew has always denied ever witnessing or suspecting Epstein of committing any crimes.
Leaked emails revealed how Epstein called Andrew “great fun”.
In 2010, when the former prince was the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment, Epstein urged a friend to meet up with Andrew at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The exchange between Epstein and Boris Nikolic, adviser to Bill Gates, happened via email in January 2010.
This was just six months after Epstein was released from prison in Florida, having served time for procuring a minor for prostitution.
The conversation released by the US Congress last week begins with Epstein asking Nikolic, if he’s had “any fun” at Davos so far.
In his notorious Newsnight interview five years ago, Andrew vowed to help the probe into Epstein and his warped madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.
But the royal has remained silent – and claimed he knew nothing of Epstein’s vile crimes despite their close bond.
Andrew twice stated his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein had provided “seriously beneficial outcomes”, allowing him to meet people and prepare for a future role as a trade envoy.
He expressed regret at making contact with Epstein in 2010 – flying to New York to tell him in person that the friendship was over – after the 66-year-old had been released from an 18-month prison term for prostituting minors.
But BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis highlighted how he spent several days with him at his home, and how he was the guest of honour at a dinner party that reportedly celebrated Epstein’s release.
Andrew said there was a “small” dinner party, but later added, “I don’t think it was quite as you might put it”.
He also said that staying at Epstein’s house was “definitely the wrong thing to do”.
Andrew added: “But at the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that’s just the way it is.”
The letter was sent just days after King Charles stripped his brother of his “Prince” title following renewed scrutiny of his links to Epstein.
He has also been evicted from his Royal Lodge home and will move to a private residence on the King’s Sandringham estate.
The former Duke of York has been under renewed scrutiny after sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre made a number of claims against him in her posthumous 400-page biography.
Ms Giuffre, who took her own life in April, has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew on three occasions.
Despite insisting he had never met Virginia, the former duke paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with her in 2022.
Her memoir went on to make further unsettling allegations about his alleged conduct.
Andrew has consistently denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Andrew, who has hit rock bottom in the UK, is under no obligation to follow the summons and fly to Washington.
It would be difficult for the US authorities to compel him to testify while he is outside America.
But he could be subject to the jurisdiction of the US Congress if he travelled there.
US lawmakers have praised King Charles for stripping Andrew of his royal titles as they demand the disgraced former duke testify over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie called for a “reckoning” in America for anyone with links to the late paedophile financier.
Democratic members of the US House Oversight Committee, which is probing the government’s handling of the Epstein case, are pushing for Andrew to give evidence — and say he could do so remotely, with legal representation and in private if necessary.
Robert Garcia, the most senior Democratic member of the committee, said: “Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long.
“Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors.”
Fellow committee member Raja Krishnamoorthi urged Andrew to “come clean” and testify voluntarily.
The renewed calls come after court documents released in the US showed Andrew emailing Epstein in April 2010 – months after Epstein’s release from prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor – saying it would be “good to catch up in person”.
Bombshell revealations
The two were later photographed together in New York’s Central Park that December, in what Andrew later described to BBC Newsnight as an attempt to end their friendship.
But The Sun on Sunday revealed that Andrew told Epstein “we are in this together” in an email — three months after the date he said he’d severed contact.
The Republicans last week dumped more than 20,000 other files – including previously unseen emails.
Those documents shed new light on the extent of Epstein’s relationship with various high-profile people – including Andrew.
One private email exchange released as part of the latest tranche of documents appeared to reveal that Andrew “had consensual sex” with an employee of Epstein.
And days ago, another email from Epstein’s socialite madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, appeared to confirm the disgraced Royal received a “massage” at her Belgravia home in London – where Ms Giuffre said Andrew had sex with her.
Maxwell is currently serving time in a US jail for sex trafficking.
In the January 2015 email – sent just days after Andrew was named in US court documents – she wrote: “I have to distance myself from you in a statement too.
“And they need me to say I was not aware of massage w/andrew in my house.”
Epstein replied: “I am on the phone with another attny (sic) getting you an answer.”
Countdown is on
For years now, victims of Epstein and their families – as well as conspiracy theorists – have called for the release of the files about the investigations into Epstein’s crimes.
And the Trump administration has now completed the final step to release the investigative files that have long been the subject of wild speculations.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that the DOJ intended to abide by those requirements.
She earlier said that the Trump administration will make all of the eligible files on the convicted sex offender public for “maximum transparency”.
The AG still does wield the power to redact the files and remove information that would pose a risk to underage victims or interfere with any ongoing investigation.
However, the DOJ cannot withhold information due to embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, says the law.
The large cache of secret documents is on the verge of being made public after Congress voted overwhelmingly to reveal the truth about Epstein on Tuesday.
What exactly are the Epstein Files?
The Epstein Files refer to the reams of evidence amassed by the Justice Department and FBI during a probe in Florida that led to his 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution and the investigation that led to his later indictment in New York.
The huge trove of documents has been sealed for years, and the object of frenzied speculation.
Only a sliver of the government material has ever been released publicly.
This includes tens of thousands of pages of evidence from federal investigations into Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell – known as the Epstein files – have been released to the public in stages over several years.
These documents, some released in redacted format, include Epstein’s flight logs, his contact book, email exchanges, court documents, and testimonies from victims and witnesses.
Names of many high-profile figures have appeared in them – but that does not mean they were aware of, or involved in Epstein’s crimes.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by the House and Senate and now signed by Trump, calls for the release within 30 days of “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in the possession of the Justice Department, the FBI and US attorneys’ offices related to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein.
She was the only person convicted in connection with the disgraced financier, but Trump’s MAGA supporters have thought for years that “deep state” elites were protecting Epstein associates in the Democratic Party and Hollywood.
