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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information 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 ordinary member of the public, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House, 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 widely speculated 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 thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

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 thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker 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.