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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life 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 comply with that request,” the minister said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, 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 key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.