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A Democratic representative has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government 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 expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be questioned.

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 blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

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

The petition has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.