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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the 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 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 expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed 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 House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

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

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