🔗 Share this article

A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince 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 Demands for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince 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 reasonable individual to honor that request,” Bryant said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Interest in the case flared in July, after the justice department 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 House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna 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 Representative Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.