🔗 Share this article

A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey 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 requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “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 Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates 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 a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, 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: openness and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.