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A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Political Environment and Investigation Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn 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 does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, 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 a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.