WASHINGTON — Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, plans to invoke her constitutional right against self-incrimination during a closed-door deposition before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, her attorney said ahead of the scheduled testimony on Monday.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal sentence after her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking offences, is expected to appear virtually from a prison in Texas. Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, confirmed that she will rely on the Fifth Amendment during questioning, a legal protection that allows witnesses to decline to answer questions that could expose them to criminal liability.
According to Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, Maxwell intends to deliver a prepared opening statement at the start of the deposition. Lawmakers have not disclosed the contents of that statement, and the committee session is being conducted behind closed doors.
The testimony comes as congressional investigators continue examining Epstein’s network and the broader handling of cases connected to the financier, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was found guilty two years later of helping recruit underage girls for Epstein to exploit and has appealed aspects of her conviction while also seeking clemency from former President Donald Trump.
Khanna said he plans to question Maxwell about a legal filing she submitted last year referencing “four named co-conspirators” and additional individuals who were not indicted in the Epstein investigation. The lawmaker also intends to ask about Maxwell’s past interactions with Trump and whether any discussions about a potential pardon occurred between her defence team and the former president.
Trump has denied wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said he ended contact with the financier decades ago. No criminal charges have been brought against him by Epstein’s victims. The Oversight Committee has not indicated whether Trump will be asked to provide testimony.
Maxwell’s anticipated refusal to answer questions has drawn criticism from some lawmakers. Khanna said her approach “appears inconsistent with Ms Maxwell’s prior conduct,” noting that she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment during a meeting earlier this year with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. A transcript released by the Justice Department shows that Maxwell told Blanche she had not witnessed improper conduct by Trump or former President Bill Clinton and that a rumoured Epstein “client list” does not exist.
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Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, has rejected allegations that the Justice Department is withholding information about Epstein’s associates. In earlier remarks, he dismissed claims of a hidden list of individuals being shielded from prosecution, saying there is no undisclosed cache of names known to authorities but intentionally concealed.
The congressional deposition was originally scheduled for August but was postponed at the request of Maxwell’s legal team, which sought to delay proceedings pending a U.S. Supreme Court ruling related to her case. Committee chairman James Comer, a Republican, agreed to the delay. Lawmakers have not said whether Maxwell’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment could limit the committee’s ability to obtain new information from her testimony.
Monday’s session takes place alongside a broader release of investigative material tied to Epstein. The U.S. Department of Justice has begun providing access to millions of pages of documents following the passage of legislation last year requiring greater disclosure. Members of Congress are being allowed to review unredacted files in person at Justice Department facilities, according to reports from Africa Today News, CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. news partner.
The scale of the document release has renewed scrutiny of how authorities handled past allegations and civil lawsuits linked to Epstein’s network. While many records had previously surfaced through litigation and settlements, lawmakers say the newly available materials could offer additional context about witnesses, financial dealings, and investigative decisions.
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Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have continued to call for greater transparency. A group of victims released a video statement on Sunday urging officials to explain why certain documents remain partially redacted and to clarify whether additional files have yet to be disclosed. Congressional investigators have said they are reviewing the requests but have not provided a timeline for any further public releases.
Maxwell’s legal strategy reflects a cautious approach as civil litigation and investigative reviews continue. Legal analysts note that witnesses frequently invoke the Fifth Amendment during congressional proceedings when parallel legal risks remain unresolved, though doing so can limit lawmakers’ ability to probe details under oath.
The Oversight Committee has not indicated whether it will pursue additional depositions after Monday’s session or seek further testimony from other individuals connected to Epstein. Lawmakers are expected to review Maxwell’s prepared statement and any non-privileged material generated during the deposition as part of their ongoing inquiry.
Committee officials said the next procedural step will depend on the outcome of the closed-door questioning and the review of newly released Justice Department files, which members of Congress began examining on Monday.