A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony
The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with 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 requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.
The congressman commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”
Political Environment and Investigation Developments
GOP members control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated 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 a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.
Legislative Actions and Challenges
As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.
Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.
“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.
The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.
