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A Democratic representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten 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.

Bipartisan Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused 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 anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced 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 thus far resulted in the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. 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 return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.