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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 investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Congressman 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 answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

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

Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared 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 so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Challenges

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

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.