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A Democratic representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the US 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 Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative 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 status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman stated: “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 Landscape and Investigation Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince 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 top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.