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

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government 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 comply with that request,” the minister said.

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

Political Landscape and Probe Developments

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 oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice 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 House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election 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 return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.