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A Democratic congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of 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 connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide 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 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 alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, 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 blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.