🔗 Share this article

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

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

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 status, 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 formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

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

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen 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 effort with Representative 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 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.