A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Cross-Party Demands for Evidence
The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.
“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to honor that request,” Bryant said.
Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”
Political Landscape and Investigation Progress
Republicans 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 oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further 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 Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.
Legal Actions and Obstacles
As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.
Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill 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 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 Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.
The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected 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 return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.
