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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 Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, 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 Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Investigation Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case 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 provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a 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 accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who was elected 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 representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.