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A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the ex-royal 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 Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction 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 abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Developments

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe 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 depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in 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 return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.