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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands 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 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 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 comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release 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 Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.