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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out 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 British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor 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 federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Progress

GOP members 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 oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so 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.