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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince 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.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged 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 expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

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

Political Environment and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, 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 force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

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

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.