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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details 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 reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “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.”

Political Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, 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 prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – 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 member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a 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: openness and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of 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 has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.