🔗 Share this article

A Democratic representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an accused 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 honor that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry 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 justice department announced that a widely speculated 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 reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike 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 force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

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

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.