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A Democratic congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is currently conducting an inquiry into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Congressman Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details 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.

Khanna stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Probe Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

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

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 circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign 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 appeal has been endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected 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 return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to end the ongoing government shutdown.