Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted co-conspirator in the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities, has requested a postponement of her congressional deposition and is making several demands to cooperate with congressional investigators. This comes after a recent vote by a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee to subpoena Maxwell, which followed mounting pressure from House Republicans to release materials related to the broader Epstein investigation. Full committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has sent a letter to Maxwell, who is currently serving a prison sentence, compelling her to speak with the committee on August 11.
Maxwell’s attorneys previously declined to cooperate with the subpoena. However, in a letter obtained by POLITICO, the lawyers stated that their client is now seeking to reach a compromise to facilitate her testimony. Among her specific demands are to be granted immunity from further criminal proceedings, to receive the committee investigators’ questions in advance of the interview, to delay the deposition until after her appeals, and to relocate the deposition outside the prison where she is held. Otherwise, the attorneys wrote, Maxwell will invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The House Oversight Committee has responded that it will not consider granting Maxwell congressional immunity. A committee spokesperson stated that the panel would soon respond to Maxwell’s request but made it clear that immunity is not on the table. Many House Republicans have been pushing Comer and GOP leaders to make the interview with Maxwell as public as possible, according to three Republicans with direct knowledge of the talks. Members of the party are concerned that the closed-door setting and the potential of granting Maxwell some level of immunity would only increase distrust among their constituents who are seeking answers about Epstein’s activities.
Despite the attorney’s attempts to negotiate, the committee has made it clear that they are not open to granting immunity to Maxwell. This highlights the ongoing tensions within the House Republican Party over how to handle the case and how to balance legal rights with investigative needs. The situation continues to attract significant public interest and could have significant implications for the broader case against Epstein and the associated investigations into his criminal activities.