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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince 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.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to 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,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna 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. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: openness and justice for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader 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 passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.