🔗 Share this article

A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal 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 expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant 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 with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna 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 Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration 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 measure to resolve the federal shutdown.