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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince 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 government custody six years ago.

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

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political 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 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 provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

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

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release 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 circulated a discharge 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 accountability for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.