House Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) urged committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to “immediately” schedule Ghislaine Maxwell‘s deposition in a Thursday letter.
The news of the letter comes days after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, on wether she was improperly prosecuted. The Oversight Committee has been a cornerstone of the recently-revived focus on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation this year.
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The Committee reached out to Maxwell after the Supreme Court’s rejection of her appeal on Monday, according to a NOTUS report. A spokesperson for Comer told the NOTUS the committee would likely be able to schedule her deposition.
“Soon after the Supreme Court denied Ms. Maxwell’s appeal, committee staff contacted her attorneys about scheduling her deposition. We should have an update soon. This is another attempt by Ranking Member Garcia to create drama where none exists,” the Comer spokesperson told NOTUS.
Garcia sent the letter to Comer Thursday morning, telling Comer to “stand by your statements” and to “uphold the Committee’s commitment to transparency and to the victims of Epstein’s horrific abuse.”
He was referring in part to comments Comer made discouraging a hypothetical DOJ pardon of Maxwell that President Donald Trump discussed with White House reporters.
TRUMP SAYS HE’LL SPEAK TO DOJ ABOUT POSSIBLE PARDON FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL
“On October 7, when asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper about President Trump’s recent statement regarding a potential pardon of Maxwell, you said clearly that based on ‘conversations that I’ve had with some of the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, that I can say with confidence, I would strongly discourage any type of pardon or commutation of Maxwell,'” Garcia wrote in the letter.
The House Oversight Committee has worked across party lines on the Epstein investigation in 2025. In early September, the committee released 33,000 pages of files related to the Department of Justice’s investigation into Epstein.
When asked for comment on why they put out the letter before consulting with committee staffers, a spokesperson for the Oversight Democrats told the Washington Examiner that they “have and will continue to work with the Republican majority staff on the Epstein investigation.”
“For months, we have been calling on the majority to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell and we are glad that they are doing so,” a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats told the Washington Examiner. “While we have been surprised on numerous occasions by the actions of the majority without any input from Oversight Democrats, we will continue to work together when possible to bring justice for the Epstein victims.”
The renewed focus on the Epstein files comes alongside the public backlash after the DOJ said they had no further plans to release materials, despite Bondi suggesting to Fox News that the Epstein client list was sitting on her desk for review. Bondi said in a Senate hearing this week that “there was no client list.” It also comes as The Wall Street Journal reported on a lewd birthday note allegedly from Trump to Epstein– a note which Trump has repeatedly denied writing and a report which Trump has taken the company to court over.
“Pursuant to the subpoena previously issued to Maxwell by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in an effort to expeditiously continue the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators, I urge you to immediately schedule Maxwell’s deposition with the Committee,” Garcia wrote in Thursday’s letter.
Kaelan Deese contributed to this reporting.