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. Representatives Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam said the former prince 'continues to hide' from questions about his ties to the disgraced financier.
The lawmakers set a deadline for Andrew to respond, which passed on Thursday. In a statement on Friday, they said: 'Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's silence in the face of the Oversight Democrats' demand for testimony speaks volumes.' They added that documents from Epstein's estate and testimony from abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre raise 'serious questions' that Andrew must answer.
As minority party members, the Democrats lack the power to issue subpoenas. The Republican chair of the committee, James Comer, has not commented on whether he would take such a step. Even if a subpoena were issued, Andrew could avoid legal penalties by not travelling to the US.
The statement came days after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the attorney general to release documents related to the government's handling of the case within 30 days. Critics have accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of being a Trump loyalist, and last week she announced an investigation into ties between Epstein and Democrats.
In a letter to Bondi, Garcia warned against using 'politically motivated investigations' to withhold records under the new law. He also noted that the committee is awaiting a response to a subpoena issued in August for Epstein-related documents. The justice department has already turned over more than 33,000 documents, but most were publicly available.
