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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal 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 anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with 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 abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest 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 House investigation has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas 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 endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th 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 comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.