🔗 Share this article

A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The statement 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 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 formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate 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 abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored 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 thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act 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.