🔗 Share this article

A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure 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 distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required 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 refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.