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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused 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 anticipate any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated 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 publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

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

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. 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 effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker 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 Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.