Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime partner of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month, chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) announced Wednesday.
Maxwell is scheduled to testify on February 9 as part of the Oversight Committee’s investigation into Epstein’s activities, Comer revealed during a markup of contempt resolutions against former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Maxwell is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for sex trafficking alongside Epstein, who died in 2019 before going to trial on federal sex trafficking charges of his own.
For months, Comer sought Maxwell’s testimony after the committee launched its investigation amid renewed bipartisan interest in Epstein’s decades-long pattern of sexual abuse. In November, Comer said Maxwell planned on pleading the Fifth rather than giving the committee testimony following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear her sentencing appeal. Maxwell previously demanded full immunity and an advanced copy of the Oversight Committee’s questions if she were to testify.
Epstein’s conduct gained fresh scrutiny last year when the Trump administration refused to release the federal government’s files on his activities. In December, the Trump administration began releasing the Epstein files after Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation compelling the Department of Justice to do so. Numerous images of Maxwell appeared in the files, as did images of some of Epstein’s powerful associates. Several pictures of Bill Clinton were present in the initial file dump, including a picture of him with his arm around a woman whose face is redacted.
The Trump administration has yet to release the vast majority of the Epstein files, which include more than two million documents. Epstein’s victims have advocated for releasing all the files for the sake of maximum transparency. Federal authorities are combing through the files to redact victim identities, child sexual abuse materials, and other sensitive information before disclosing them.
Last summer, the Justice Department interviewed Maxwell at length, but she did not reveal any new incrimination information. However, she did provide fawning praise for President Trump based on their interactions over the course of Trump’s friendship with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s. Shortly thereafter, Maxwell was moved to a lower-security facility to continue serving her sentence. At this time, Trump does not seem to have interest in granting her a pardon.
The Oversight panel’s top Democrat, Representative Robert Garcia (Calif.), criticized the Trump administration for giving Maxwell special treatment and claimed the cover-up is ongoing.
“After pressure from Oversight Democrats, Chairman Comer has finally decided to call her in to testify. But let’s be clear: the coverup is continuing,” Garcia said. “She has gotten special treatment from the DOJ for months. Let’s end the coverup now.”
Separate from the administration, the Oversight Committee has released troves of documents from Epstein’s estate as part of its investigation. One of those documents was a controversial birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote Epstein for his 50th in 2003. Trump has called the letter fake and filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for first reporting it. Similarly, Trump has repeatedly called the Epstein files a “hoax” promoted by the Democratic Party.