🔗 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 carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with 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.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation 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 effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected 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 comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.