The powerful GOP-led House Oversight Committee will “seek to subpoena” convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case “as expeditiously as possible,” a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) requested that Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) summon the imprisoned British socialite to testify. Comer, however, asked Burchett to introduce a formal motion, which the committee approved by voice vote.
“Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will coordinate with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to schedule a date for her deposition,” a committee representative said.
Despite bipartisan demands from lawmakers, House GOP leadership has thus far blocked efforts to obtain further information about the convicted pedophile, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019.
Earlier Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that he had contacted Maxwell’s legal team and plans to meet with her “in the coming days” to “hear what she has to say.”
Maxwell’s attorney later confirmed ongoing discussions with the Justice Department.
Former Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz has asserted that Maxwell “knows everything” about Epstein’s depraved crimes, calling her the “Rosetta Stone” of the long-running case.
The Epstein saga resurfaced prominently on July 6 with a joint memo from the Justice Department and FBI, which concluded that the 66-year-old financier died by suicide in custody and did not possess a “client list” of influential associates involved in abusive crimes against young girls — contradicting widespread speculation.
President Trump has dismissed the controversy as a “hoax” and criticized a faction of his supporters who have focused heavily on it. Meanwhile, Democrats have seized on the issue, repeatedly pressing Republicans for answers.
“We’re not going to play political games with this,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Tuesday. “We want any individual who has been involved in any way in the Epstein evils to be brought to justice as quickly as possible.”
On Monday evening, Republicans recessed a House Rules Committee meeting just as Democrats were preparing to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
Because the Rules Committee acts as a gatekeeper for most legislation brought to the House floor, GOP leadership has effectively been stalled from advancing other bills they aimed to address before the August recess.
On Tuesday, House GOP leadership announced that no further votes would take place after Wednesday afternoon.
Last week, the Trump administration requested that a federal judge approve the release of grand jury testimony in the cases against both Epstein and Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence following her conviction for sex trafficking and conspiracy.
