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

Bipartisan Demands for Testimony

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested 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 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 people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls with Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

GOP members hold the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has blocked a vote on it. 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 effort with Representative Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, 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.