House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer told Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorneys the panel is willing to delay her subpoenaed deposition until after the Supreme Court rules on an appeal she has filed.
Why It Matters
Maxwell’s testimony remains “vital” to the committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Maxwell had been serving a 20-year sentence in a Tallahassee, Florida Federal Correctional Institute after being convicted of helping Epstein recruit and abuse young girls as part of his sex-trafficking ring. On Friday, she was quietly relocated to the minimum security, Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told Newsweek.
What To Know
Maxwell’s legal team had warned she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination unless certain conditions were met, including congressional immunity, conducting the deposition outside her prison, receiving advance questions, and waiting for the appeal’s conclusion.
Comer has ruled out granting immunity or providing questions in advance. He added the panel is “willing to engage in good faith negotiations” and will continue its practice of holding detailed discussions about the scope of testimony.
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It’s not clear if the prison transfer is in response to Maxwell’s requests to House Oversight.
The move comes just a week after Maxwell sat down for a two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Blanche has not yet commented on the contents of their discussion, but Maxwell’s attorney Markus said Friday there have been “no asks and no promises” about clemency.
Maxwell’s Department of Justice conversations and looming Congressional testimony are taking place as pressure continues to build on Donald Trump and his administration, who made the release of the Epstein files a campaign promise.
The president has faced strong backlash, including from his own MAGA base, since July 6, when the DOJ and FBI released a joint memo that said the sex offender had “no incriminating ‘client list'” and reiterated that he died by suicide in his jail cell in August 2019.
Trump has come under additional scrutiny since The Wall Street Journal reported that in May, Attorney General Pam Bondi told the president his name appeared “multiple times” in the so-called Epstein files. This claim was dismissed as “another fake news story” by White House communications director Steven Cheung.
What People Are Saying
Holli Coulman, a prison consultant, told CNN Friday regarding Maxwell’s prison move, “This is absolutely unprecedented what transpired. Everybody is completely shocked.”
In a statement issued after news broke of Maxwell’s transfer, the family of Epstein accuser, the late Virginia Giuffre — joined by fellow accusers Annie and Maria Farmer — said, “It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received. Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum-security luxury prison in Texas.”
The statement continued, “The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better.”
Trump said on Monday, when asked about a pardon for Maxwell, “Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon but nobody’s approached me with it, nobody’s asked me about it. It’s in the news about that—that aspect of it, but right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X, ahead if his two-day interview with Maxwell last week, “If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.”
What Happens Next
A Supreme Court decision on Maxwell’s appeal is expected in late September.
Update: 8/1/25, 7:55 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
