🔗 Share this article

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

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to 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 decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, 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 apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

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

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so 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.