US Lawmaker Calls On Ex-Royal Andrew to Provide Testimony in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation
A Democratic Party congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the governmentâs handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence
The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.
âJust 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,â the minister said.
Khanna commented: âAndrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.â
Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress
Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trumpâs handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a much-rumored list of Epsteinâs sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.
The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents â including an explicit sketch apparently made by Donald Trump for Epsteinâs birthday â as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.
Legal Efforts and Obstacles
As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsorâs testimony. Spokespeople for the committeeâs Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.
The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.
âThis is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,â Khanna said.
The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in 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 return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.