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A Democratic Party congressman has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide 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,” Bryant said.

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

Political Environment and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored 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 release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, the representative does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the ex-royal should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.