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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 reasonable individual to honor that request,” Bryant said.

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

Political Landscape and Probe Developments

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe 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 sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna 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 former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.