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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting 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, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated 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 alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “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.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans 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 House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced 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 so far led to 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 Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims 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 Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.