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A Democratic representative has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro 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 titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an alleged 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 reasonable individual to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, 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. Public interest surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s associates was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

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

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the ex-royal should be questioned.

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 a majority of representatives endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna 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 Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.