Washington D.C., USA – Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, will refuse to answer questions when she appears before the United States House Oversight Committee, her legal team has confirmed. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, is expected to take part in a closed-door deposition on Monday via video link from a federal prison in Texas.
Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said Maxwell will invoke her constitutional right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. While she will not respond to lawmakers’ questions, she is expected to deliver a brief prepared statement at the beginning of the session, according to Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, a member of the Oversight Committee.
Okay News reports that the congressional hearing is part of renewed scrutiny surrounding Epstein’s criminal network following the release of millions of pages of documents by the US Department of Justice. These files were made public after Congress passed legislation last year compelling their disclosure, reopening debates about accountability and the scope of the original investigation into Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein, with whom she had a personal relationship. She has since been accused by prosecutors of misleading federal investigators and is reportedly seeking a presidential pardon. Lawmakers have indicated they want to question her about a court filing in which she referred to several alleged co-conspirators who were never charged, as well as her past social interactions with prominent political figures.
Congressman Khanna has said he intends to raise questions about Maxwell’s links to former and current US presidents, including Donald Trump, and whether any discussions about clemency ever took place between Maxwell’s legal team and political officials. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein, stating that he cut ties with the financier years before Epstein’s arrest and has not been accused of any crime by victims.
The decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment has drawn attention because Maxwell previously answered questions during a 2025 meeting with senior officials at the US Department of Justice. According to official transcripts, she denied witnessing any improper conduct involving Trump or former President Bill Clinton and said claims of a secret “client list” linked to Epstein were unfounded.
Monday’s deposition was originally scheduled for August 2025 but was postponed at the request of Maxwell’s lawyers while awaiting a ruling from the US Supreme Court related to her appeal. The hearing now coincides with heightened public pressure from Epstein’s survivors, some of whom have renewed calls for full transparency and the release of unredacted investigative records.
While members of Congress will begin reviewing nearly three million pages of unredacted files at the Department of Justice this week, federal officials have rejected allegations of a cover-up. Justice Department representatives have insisted that there is no hidden evidence being withheld and that prosecutorial decisions were based on available, verifiable facts.
