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

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California 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 status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged 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 anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

GOP members hold 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 government handled his prosecutions. Public interest 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 thus far resulted in the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

“This is what my effort 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 signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.