🔗 Share this article

A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative 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 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 anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna 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 Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna 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 ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, 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 campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.