US Congressman Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify in Epstein Investigation

A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative 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 dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors 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 swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.