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A Democratic congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated 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 government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would anticipate any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

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

Political Landscape and Probe Progress

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

The House investigation has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to compel the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to force the release of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. The two congressmen have circulated a discharge petition that will force a vote on the bill, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my effort with Representative Massie has been about: openness 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 the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by the Speaker. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.