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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative 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 connections to 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 requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department announced 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 publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Challenges

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

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in 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 bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.