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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows 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 Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna 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 Landscape and Investigation Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled 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 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 reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill 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 force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” 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 Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.