🔗 Share this article

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

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, follows 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 connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case 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 provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, 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 thinks the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat 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 refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna 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 justice for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.