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A Democratic representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested 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 federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, 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: openness and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act 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 end the ongoing government shutdown.