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A Democratic Party representative has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Congressman 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 connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Probe Progress

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 oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored 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 a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, 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 ex-royal should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives 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 signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.