A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Bipartisan Demands for Testimony
The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal 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 decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.
Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress
Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.
The House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.
Legal Actions and Obstacles
As a minority party member, the representative 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 thinks the former prince should be interviewed.
The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.
“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.
The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.
