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A Democratic representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, follows 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 connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government 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 anticipate any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Developments

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman 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 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 victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.