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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California 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 status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Progress

GOP members 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 government handled his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.