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

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 honor that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case 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 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 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts 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, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.