Ghislaine Maxwell Scheduled to Testify Before Congress in Epstein Investigation

Thu Jan 22 2026 10:09:13 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, agrees to testify virtually before a congressional committee investigating the government's handling of Epstein's cases.

Ghislaine Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, will testify before Congress on February 9 regarding Epstein's investigations. Despite her legal team's insistence on immunity to avoid self-incrimination, she is being compelled to testify as scrutiny intensifies over the Trump administration's handling of Epstein's case.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has agreed to testify under oath before the congressional committee investigating the federal government's handling of the Epstein cases.

Committee chairman James Comer, who is leading the investigation, says Maxwell will speak to the committee virtually on 9 February.

Maxwell's legal team has previously stated that she would decline to answer questions under her constitutional right to remain silent unless granted legal immunity. Comer noted that her lawyers indicated she might plead the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions.

The announcement from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee comes amidst continued scrutiny of the Trump administration for its handling of the Epstein case.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting and trafficking teenage girls for sexual abuse by Epstein. In July, the committee declined to offer her immunity in exchange for testimony. Subsequently, it issued legal summons in August requiring her to submit evidence under oath.

Maxwell's lawyers maintain that being compelled to testify from jail without any legal protection is unacceptable. They argue that she cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity, stating that her safety and the integrity of the process could be compromised.

House lawmakers cannot force Maxwell to waive her Fifth Amendment protections, and her legal team has warned that pursuing this course would result in pure political theater with no substantive information gained.

Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021, had appealed against her conviction, but the Supreme Court denied to hear her case last October. Her only remaining path to an early release is a presidential pardon or persuading a federal judge to modify her sentence, although the White House has denied any current plans from Trump to grant clemency.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has faced criticism for the handling of Epstein's files, with only a fraction of relevant documents released to the public. The House committee is also looking into the Clintons' refusal to testify regarding the Epstein investigation, potentially filing contempt charges against them.