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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details 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 expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “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 Investigation Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

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

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. 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 Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect 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 says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.