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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, 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 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.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared 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 publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, 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 Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker 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 effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.