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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel 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 California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide 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.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, 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 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 House investigation has thus far resulted in the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions 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 Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.