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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, 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 requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

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

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill 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 require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.