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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the 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 answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged 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 anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “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 Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed 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 so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the ex-royal should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.