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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California 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 Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal 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 honor that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna 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 Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, 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 Congressman Massie has been about: openness and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.