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A Democratic Party congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life 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 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.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.