A Democratic representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.
Cross-Party Pressure 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 the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.
“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” the minister said.
The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”
Partisan Environment and Probe Developments
GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged 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 share nothing further on the case.
The House investigation 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 sworn statements from ex-government leaders.
Legislative Actions and Obstacles
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, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.
Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. 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 campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.
The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.
