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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey 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, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with 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 requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would anticipate any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Environment and Investigation Developments

GOP members 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 justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a minority party member, Khanna lacks the authority to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he believes the former prince should be questioned.

The Democrat and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but Mike Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna 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 campaign with Representative Massie has been about: transparency and accountability 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 won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and says he will not tell representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.