House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer declared that Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite convicted of sex trafficking minors for Jeffrey Epstein, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination over 200 times during a closed-door deposition last week, stonewalling investigators on every substantive question posed.
The session, conducted by the House Judiciary Committee's Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, aimed to pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding Epstein's infamous "client list" and high-profile associates. Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida federal prison, appeared remotely and refused to provide details on Epstein's flight logs, financial records, or alleged powerful figures who may have participated in or benefited from the sex trafficking operation. Comer, a Kentucky Republican leading the probe, expressed little surprise at her silence, stating it aligned with expectations given her ongoing appeals and the explosive nature of the inquiries.
Maxwell's refusal echoes her strategy during her 2021 criminal trial, where she avoided testifying to evade cross-examination. Convicted on five counts related to recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein between 1994 and 2004, she has maintained her innocence while appealing the verdict. Epstein, her longtime associate and former romantic partner, died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, fueling conspiracy theories about elite cover-ups that the current congressional investigation seeks to address.
Republicans on the committee, including Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, have intensified scrutiny of Epstein's files amid declassified documents revealing connections to politicians, celebrities, and intelligence figures. The deposition forms part of a broader Republican-led effort to expose what they call Deep State interference in high-profile cases, contrasting with Democratic dismissals of the probe as partisan theater. Witnesses like Epstein's brother and former employees have provided tantalizing but incomplete leads, heightening pressure on holdouts like Maxwell.
Legal experts note that while invoking the Fifth protects Maxwell from self-incrimination, it limits the committee's leverage absent a grant of immunity, which Republicans have so far declined to offer. Comer's comments underscore growing frustration, with the chairman hinting at potential contempt proceedings or further subpoenas to unearth what he describes as "the most important unanswered questions in modern American history."
As the investigation unfolds ahead of the 2026 midterms, Maxwell's blanket refusal risks deepening public cynicism about accountability for the Epstein saga, leaving lawmakers to sift through redacted documents and reluctant testimonies in pursuit of transparency.
