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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Political 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 case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.