Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has agreed to testify under oath before the congressional committee investigating the federal government's handling of the Epstein cases.
Committee chairman James Comer, who is leading the investigation, says Maxwell will speak to the committee virtually on 9 February.
Maxwell's legal team has previously said she would decline to answer questions under her constitutional right to remain silent unless she is granted legal immunity. Comer, previewing the deposition, said, her lawyers have been saying she is going to plead the Fifth, referring to the US Fifth Amendment right to decline to speak to authorities.
The announcement from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee comes as the Trump administration continues to come under fierce scrutiny for its handling of the Epstein case. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting and trafficking teenage girls for sexual abuse by Epstein.
In July, the committee declined to offer Maxwell legal immunity in exchange for her testimony. In August, the committee issued legal summons to Maxwell, requiring her to submit evidence under oath. However, Maxwell's legal team stated that requiring her to both testify from jail and without any legal immunity were non-starters.
The lawyers expressed concerns that she cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity and emphasized that speaking from prison creates risks to her security and undermines the integrity of the process.
House lawmakers cannot force Maxwell to waive her Fifth Amendment protections, and on Tuesday, her legal team communicated to the committee that she would continue to refuse to testify.
The attorneys stated, Put plainly, proceeding under these circumstances would serve no other purpose than pure political theater and a complete waste of taxpayer monies. The Committee would obtain no testimony, no answers, and no new facts.
Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021, had appealed against the conviction to the Supreme Court last October, but the top court declined to hear her appeal. The only potential way out of prison early would be a presidential pardon, although the White House has denied that Trump is considering granting her clemency.
Separately, the Department of Justice has faced a deadline to release all remaining Epstein files and has come under fire for the number of redactions in these documents. Meanwhile, the House committee is also discussing the Clinton's refusal to testify regarding the Epstein investigation and considering filing contempt charges against them.}
Committee chairman James Comer, who is leading the investigation, says Maxwell will speak to the committee virtually on 9 February.
Maxwell's legal team has previously said she would decline to answer questions under her constitutional right to remain silent unless she is granted legal immunity. Comer, previewing the deposition, said, her lawyers have been saying she is going to plead the Fifth, referring to the US Fifth Amendment right to decline to speak to authorities.
The announcement from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee comes as the Trump administration continues to come under fierce scrutiny for its handling of the Epstein case. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting and trafficking teenage girls for sexual abuse by Epstein.
In July, the committee declined to offer Maxwell legal immunity in exchange for her testimony. In August, the committee issued legal summons to Maxwell, requiring her to submit evidence under oath. However, Maxwell's legal team stated that requiring her to both testify from jail and without any legal immunity were non-starters.
The lawyers expressed concerns that she cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity and emphasized that speaking from prison creates risks to her security and undermines the integrity of the process.
House lawmakers cannot force Maxwell to waive her Fifth Amendment protections, and on Tuesday, her legal team communicated to the committee that she would continue to refuse to testify.
The attorneys stated, Put plainly, proceeding under these circumstances would serve no other purpose than pure political theater and a complete waste of taxpayer monies. The Committee would obtain no testimony, no answers, and no new facts.
Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021, had appealed against the conviction to the Supreme Court last October, but the top court declined to hear her appeal. The only potential way out of prison early would be a presidential pardon, although the White House has denied that Trump is considering granting her clemency.
Separately, the Department of Justice has faced a deadline to release all remaining Epstein files and has come under fire for the number of redactions in these documents. Meanwhile, the House committee is also discussing the Clinton's refusal to testify regarding the Epstein investigation and considering filing contempt charges against them.}
