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A Democratic representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince 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 died by suicide while in government 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 honor that request,” the minister said.

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

Partisan Environment and Probe Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored 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 an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 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 the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna 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 blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election 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 lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.