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

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details 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 ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, 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,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.