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A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction 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 people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a much-rumored 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 a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna 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. The two congressmen 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 Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita 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 says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.