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A Democratic Party representative has demanded the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Demands for Evidence

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, 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 Epstein, an alleged 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 comply with that request,” Bryant said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Environment and Investigation Developments

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s associates did not exist, 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 apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Challenges

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation 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 force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign 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 endorsed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House reconvenes, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to return to Washington until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.