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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal 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 decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant 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 with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry 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 revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the release of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.