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A Democratic Party congressman has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in government 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.

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 with Epstein.”

Political Environment and Probe Developments

Republicans hold the majority in the House, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Public interest flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, 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 reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, Khanna does not have the power to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he believes the ex-royal should be questioned.

Khanna and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure 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 require the bill be voted on, if 218 members of the House sign it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and justice for the survivors who have been courageously speaking out,” the lawmaker said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 Democratic representatives, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be 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 has stated he won’t instruct lawmakers to return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.