Ghislaine Maxwell to appear before US Congress in Epstein investigation

Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice/PA)

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of billionaire paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, will appear before a US congressional committee next month.

The British former socialite, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking, is scheduled to appear virtually before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on February 9.

Committee chairman James Comer said Maxwell’s lawyers have indicated she plans to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“I agree we need to hear from Ghislaine Maxwell,” Mr Comer said. “We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform markup business meeting (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

The question came in response to mounting pressure from Democrats to press contempt of Congress charges against Maxwell, as well as US Attorney General Pam Bondi over the delayed release of Epstein-related documents.

He added: “Her lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the Fifth, but we have nailed down a date, February 9, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee. Now, her lawyers have made it clear that she’s going to plead the Fifth.

“I hope she changes her mind, because I want to hear from her.”

Maxwell was originally served with a subpoena in July 2025 to appear the following month, but the committee has refused to grant her immunity in return for testimony.

Mr Comer announced the scheduled deposition during a meeting in which the committee also voted to advance contempt of Congress resolutions against former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, after both declined to comply with subpoenas calling them to testify before Congress over their friendships with Epstein.

The Clintons have challenged the subpoenas, saying they serve no legislative purpose.

They have both submitted written statements to the committee and have had lawyers negotiating with Mr Comer behind the scenes.

Angel Urena, a spokesman for the Clintons, said in a post on X that the pair had tried to help with the investigation but “both Clintons have been out of office for over a decade. Neither had anything to do with him for more than 20 years”.

The Oversight Committee is examining Epstein’s network and the government’s handling of records tied to the case.

It comes amid mounting criticism of the US Justice Department over its failure to make public all Epstein-related documents.

Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Only a fraction of the documents, which US law mandates should only be withheld to protect victims’ identities or active criminal investigations, have been published.

Maxwell appealed against her conviction to the US Supreme Court in October, but it declined to hear her case.

Ranking Democratic committee member Representative Robert Garcia accused the US Department of Justice on Wednesday of giving Maxwell “special treatment”.

“For months, Ghislaine Maxwell has defied the subpoena ordering her to testify to the Oversight Committee,” he said in a statement.

“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. She has gotten special treatment from the DOJ for months. Let’s end the coverup now.”