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A Democratic representative has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The statement from Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal titles, he should respond to requests for details about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, an accused sex trafficker who took his own life 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 anticipate any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

The congressman stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The people have a right to know who was exploiting women and minors with Epstein.”

Political Environment and Investigation Progress

GOP members control the majority in the House, but amid public outcry over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case flared in July, after the Department of Justice announced 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 thus far resulted in the publication of thousands of documents – including a lewd drawing apparently made by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna lacks the authority to compel Mountbatten Windsor’s testimony. Representatives for the Republican committee chairman, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the ex-royal should be interviewed.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill to force the release of files related to Epstein, but House Speaker Johnson, a top ally of the president, has refused to bring it up for a vote. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will require the bill be voted on, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my campaign with Representative Massie has been about: openness and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” Khanna said.

The appeal has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four Republicans. The 218th signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the House leader has declined to act until the House comes back into session, and has stated he won’t instruct representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.