🔗 Share this article

A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of 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 respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 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 the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker 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 Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.