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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California 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 titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government 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 decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated 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 release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman 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 distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, 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 the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.