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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on 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 status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna 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 Investigation Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case flared in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman 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. 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 effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.