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A Democratic representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, follows a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

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

Political Landscape and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman 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. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House endorse 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 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 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.