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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested 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 expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. 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 effort with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.