🔗 Share this article

A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged 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 reasonable individual to comply with that request,” the minister said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna 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 effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.