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A Democratic Party congressman has demanded the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to testify before the House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Cross-Party Pressure for Testimony

The declaration from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who is a member of the House oversight committee, comes after a UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, indicated that since the former prince has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in federal 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 expect any decently minded person to comply with that request,” Bryant said.

The congressman commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Political Landscape and Investigation Developments

GOP members control the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein matter approved an inquiry by the oversight committee into how the authorities managed his legal proceedings. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department announced that a much-rumored list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients was non-existent, and it would provide no additional information on the case.

The congressional probe has so far led to the publication of tens of thousands of pages – including an explicit sketch reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as sworn statements from former top government officials.

Legal Actions and Challenges

As a minority party member, the representative lacks the authority to compel the former prince’s appearance. Spokespeople for the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer, declined to comment about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have introduced a bill 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. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and accountability for the victims 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 was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits swearing in by the Speaker. 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 passes a measure to resolve the federal shutdown.