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

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative 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 respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal 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 decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.