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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after 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 Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in government 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 comply with that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, 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 an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, 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 a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.