American Lawmaker Urges Ex-Royal Andrew to Provide Testimony in Epstein Inquiry

A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince 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 federal custody six years ago.

ā€œJust as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,ā€ Bryant said.

Khanna commented: ā€œAndrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.ā€

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, 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.

ā€œThis is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,ā€ the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita 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 says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.

James Shepherd
James Shepherd

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