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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure 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 the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his connections to Jeffrey 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 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 summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the justice department announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

As a minority party member, the representative does not have the power to subpoena Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House endorse it.

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

The petition has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell lawmakers to come back to the capital until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.