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A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with 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 reasonable individual to comply with that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Environment and Investigation Developments

GOP members 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 House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. 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 provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita 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 approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.