Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been subpoenaed to address Congress next month.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced the move one day after members of his panel voted to authorize him to issue a subpoena. A cover letter to Maxwell says Comer seeks a deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on August 11. The chairman’s office said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is “cooperating” and would “help facilitate” the interview.
“The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,” Comer wrote on Wednesday.
“At the outset of the 119th Congress, on February 11, 2025, the Committee and the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting a briefing regarding documents in the Department’s possession regarding ‘the investigation into and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein,'” Comer added. “On May 8, the Task Force sent another letter to the Department requesting the public release of ‘the entirety of the Epstein files’ and a briefing regarding the release of these files.”
Comer’s team noted in a press release that The Daily Mail had reported on July 13 that Maxwell was open to speaking with Congress about Epstein’s criminal activities. The news outlet cited unnamed sources close to Maxwell.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.
Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, told CNN in response to the subpoena, “Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds.” He also claimed that concerns about Maxwell’s credibility are “unfounded” while stressing that his client would speak “truthfully” and not plead the Fifth if a deposition with Congress were to occur.
The vote to subpoena Maxwell happened shortly after the DOJ revealed that it anticipated a meeting with Maxwell in the “coming days.” That followed Attorney General Pam Bondi filing a formal request last week for judges to unseal grand jury testimony from the cases against Epstein and Maxwell at the behest of President Donald Trump, who has argued that people are falling for a “hoax” perpetuated by Democrats.
On Wednesday, just before Comer’s announcement, a federal judge denied the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury materials from investigations conducted in the 2000s regarding Epstein. CBS News reported that judges who oversaw other cases in New York were still undecided as of the time of publication.
A growing number of lawmakers have been pushing for the disclosure of more information on Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who was found dead at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls. Democrats have accused GOP leadership of balking on pressing the Trump administration harder for disclosure, while Republicans have raised questions about why their colleagues across the aisle did not seem interested in the issue when they had power.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told this week on Monday that Congress needs to give the Trump administration “space,” but would consider action if it became necessary. He also said House Republicans want “maximum transparency.”
A potential vote on demanding the Trump administration release secret documents it has on Epstein, the focus of a discharge petition from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) that would force leadership’s hand, likely will not happen until after the August recess. More immediately, as of publication of this article, it appeared that a House Oversight subcommittee was on its way to passing a motion to subpoena Epstein files.
“While the Justice Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to your and Mr. Epstein’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of you and Mr. Epstein,” Comer wrote.
He continued, “In particular, the Committee seeks your testimony to inform the consideration of potential legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations.”