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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the former prince Andrew Windsor to appear before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an investigation into the official handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Evidence

The declaration from Congressman Khanna, a Democratic representative from California who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, follows a British trade official, 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 accused 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 honor that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Progress

Republicans control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the Department of Justice announced that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The House investigation has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from former top government officials.

Legislative Efforts and Obstacles

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

The Democrat and Thomas Massie have proposed legislation to force the release 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 endorse it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: transparency and accountability for the survivors who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition 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 was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in 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 return to Washington until the Senate passes a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.