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A Democratic representative has publicly called for the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives investigative panel that is carrying out an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Demands for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should respond to requests for details about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but amid public outcry over Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his prosecutions. Public interest flared in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored 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 release of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Donald Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legislative Actions and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, the representative does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have introduced a bill to mandate the disclosure of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, 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 endorse it.

“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and justice for the victims who have been courageously speaking out,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been endorsed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is anticipated to come from Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.