The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to depose Ghislaine Maxwell on Feb. 9 as part of its ongoing investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to a source familiar with the planning, the deposition will be conducted virtually. Maxwell was convicted in 2022 of helping Epstein traffic teenage girls, but has denied abusing anyone and has claimed she was unfairly blamed after Epstein died in custody in 2019. Maxwell is currently incarcerated at a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas, where she was transferred last year.
Chairman James Comer announced the scheduled deposition on Wednesday, during a committee session considering contempt resolutions against former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – both of whom declined to appear for depositions related to the Epstein inquiry. The contempt votes stem from the Clintons’ refusal to comply with subpoenas, which their attorneys have called “legally invalid.” Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said the Clintons have cooperated with investigators and denied any recent ties to Epstein. In a statement posted Wednesday, Ureña wrote that the Clintons had nothing to do with Epstein “for more than 20 years,” adding, “The Committee is voting whether to charge the Clintons with a crime that could end in their imprisonment. But we have cooperated. They just won’t tell you we have because then they can’t charge them.”
Comer emphasized the importance of hearing directly from Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking. He said: “We need to hear from Ghislaine Maxwell. We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition, and her lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the fifth, but we have nailed down a date, Feb. 9, where Maxwell will be deposed by this committee.”
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, has warned that his client will refuse to answer questions. In a letter to Comer, Markus wrote that if the deposition proceeds, “Ms. Maxwell will invoke her privilege against self-incrimination and decline to answer questions.” He stressed that her legal challenges remain unresolved, adding, “That is not a negotiating position or a tactical choice; it is a legal necessity.” Markus argued that moving forward would amount to “pure political theater” and “a complete waste” of taxpayer funds, saying, “The only certainty is a public spectacle in which a witness repeatedly invokes the Fifth Amendment.” He also noted that Maxwell would consider testifying publicly if granted clemency, a possibility President Donald Trump has not ruled out.
The committee first subpoenaed Maxwell last summer, but a planned August deposition was postponed. Comer previously said her testimony is “vital to the Committee’s efforts regarding Mr. Jeffrey Epstein, including the 2007 non-prosecution agreement and the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death.” After the delay, the panel opted to wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to review Maxwell’s conviction. The court declined to take up her appeal in October.
Editorial credit: DCStockPhotography / Shutterstock.com