🔗 Share this article

A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.