🔗 Share this article

A Democratic Party congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.