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A Democratic representative has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California 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 titles, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication 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 minority party member, the representative does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, 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 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 Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be 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 declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.