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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

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

Political Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Challenges

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

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna 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 campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker 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.