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

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative 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 dealings with Jeffrey 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 reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

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

Political Environment and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors 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 was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration 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 approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.