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A Democratic representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, 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 alleged 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 anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative 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 thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. 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 effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.