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

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the investigative 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 respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life 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 decently minded person to comply with that request,” the minister 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.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Progress

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 government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of thousands of documents – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the House leader has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.