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A Democratic representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after 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 Epstein, an accused 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.

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.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in 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.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James 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 House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader 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 passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.