The powerful GOP-led House Oversight Committee will “seek to subpoena” convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony about the Jeffrey Epstein case “as expeditiously as possible,” a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) had requested Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) summon the imprisoned British socialite for testimony. Comer instead asked Burchett to introduce a formal motion, which the panel approved by voice vote.
“Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when Committee can depose her,” a committee rep said.
Despite demands from lawmakers of both parties, House GOP leadership has so far stymied efforts to compel the release of additional information about the convicted pedophile, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019.
Earlier Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that he had reached out to Maxwell’s legal team and intends to meet with her “in the coming days” to “hear what she has to say.”
Maxwell’s attorney later confirmed that there have been talks with the Justice Department.
Former Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz has claimed that Maxwell “knows everything” about Epstein’s perverted crimes, describing her as the “Rosetta Stone” of the years-long case.
The Epstein drama burst back onto front pages with a July 6 Justice Department and FBI jointed memo that concluded the 66-year-old financier killed himself in lockup and did not have a “client list” of powerful friends who partook in debased crimes against young girls — contrary to widespread speculation.
Trump has blasted the controversy as a “hoax” and ripped a faction of his supporters that has fixated on it. Democrats have quickly pounced on the controversy and repeatedly sought to put Republicans on the spot.
“We’re not going to play political games with this,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Tuesday.
“We want any individual who has been involved in any way in the Epstein evils to be brought to justice as quickly as possible.”
On Monday evening, Republicans recessed a House Rules Committee meeting after Democrats were poised to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
Because the Rules Committee serves as a gatekeeper for most types of legislation that comes up for a vote on the House floor, GOP leadership has effectively been stalled from taking up other bills they intended to get to before the August recess.
On Tuesday, House GOP leadership announced that no further votes would be held after Wednesday afternoon,
Last week, the Trump administration asked a federal judge to sign off on releasing grand jury testimony in the cases against both Epstein and Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy.