Two Democratic lawmakers involved in the US congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein have condemned Prince Andrew's 'silence' after he failed to respond to a request for a deposition. Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam said the former prince 'continues to hide' and that his silence 'speaks volumes'.
The lawmakers sent a letter earlier this month seeking Andrew's cooperation in the inquiry into Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. They set a deadline for a response, which passed on Thursday.
Documents obtained by the committee, along with testimony from abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre, 'raise serious questions' that Andrew 'must answer', Garcia and Subramanyam said. They vowed to hold anyone involved accountable, 'no matter their wealth, status, or political party'.
Democrats lack the power to issue subpoenas as the minority party, and Republican chair James Comer has not commented on whether he would take such a step. Even if a subpoena were issued, Andrew could avoid penalties by not coming to the US. He has strongly denied wrongdoing.
The statement came days after Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the attorney general to release related documents within 30 days. Critics have accused Pam Bondi of being a Trump loyalist who uses her powers to protect the president. Garcia wrote to Bondi warning against politically motivated withholding of records.
The justice department turned over more than 33,000 documents in September, but most were already public. Sources say the department holds up to 300 gigabytes of files, including interview transcripts and emails.
