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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested 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 accused 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 expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House 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 sex trafficking clients was non-existent, 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 an explicit sketch apparently made 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, the representative does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, 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 218 members of the House sign 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,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.