American Congressman Urges Ex-Royal Andrew to Provide Testimony in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence
The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the 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 connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.
“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.
Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”
Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress
GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling 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 Department of Justice 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 congressional probe has so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions 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 committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.
Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.
“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker 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 Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.