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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with 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 anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

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

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita 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 reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.