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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.

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

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case 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 announced that a much-rumored 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 thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch 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 lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure 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 distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives 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,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.