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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows 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 died by suicide 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 decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes 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 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 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 courageously speaking out,” 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 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 has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.