American Lawmaker Urges Former Prince Andrew to Provide Testimony in Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry
A Democratic Party representative has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.
Cross-Party Demands for Testimony
The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California 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 titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life 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 reasonable individual to honor that request,” Bryant said.
The congressman stated: “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.”
Partisan Environment and Probe Progress
GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, 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 apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.
Legal Actions and Obstacles
As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.
Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.
“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.
The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.