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A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

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 Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to 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 expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

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

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign 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,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from 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 comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.