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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who is a member of the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with 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 formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to honor that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Progress

Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case flared 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 tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, 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 campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required 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 House leader has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.