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

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative 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 connections to Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal 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 investigative 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 authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates 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 Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, 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 endorse it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.