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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 carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged 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 honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.