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

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey 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 anticipate any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors 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 authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

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

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

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

The petition has been endorsed 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 swearing in by the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.