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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on 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 Epstein, an alleged 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 decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.