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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to 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 formal requests from overseas 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 oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions 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 Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the House leader 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 end the ongoing government shutdown.