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A Democratic Party congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the 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 Democratic representative from California who is a member of 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 respond to requests for details about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “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.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed 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 congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, 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,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.