Ghislaine Maxwell Set to Testify Before Congress in Epstein Investigation

Thu Jan 22 2026 03:00:48 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Ghislaine Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for her involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring, will appear before the congressional committee investigating Epstein's cases on February 9, 2026. However, she may invoke her Fifth Amendment rights during the testimony.

Ghislaine Maxwell has agreed to testify virtually before a congressional committee on February 9 regarding the federal government's handling of the Epstein cases. Although her legal team has indicated she might plead the Fifth Amendment, Congress continues to scrutinize the Epstein scandal as part of ongoing investigations. Maxwell, currently serving time for trafficking minors, faces complex legal challenges regarding her testimony and existing prison sentence.

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 she would decline to answer questions under her constitutional right to remain silent unless she is granted legal immunity.

Comer previewed the deposition, noting, her lawyers have been saying she is going to plead the Fifth, highlighting concerns over her testimony.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced her testimony as scrutiny over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case intensifies.

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 legal immunity in exchange for her testimony and issued legal summons to compel her to submit evidence.

Her lawyers previously expressed that requiring her to testify from jail without legal immunity posed significant risks, both politically and in terms of her legal standing.

They contended that proceeding under the current conditions would be politically motivated and a waste of taxpayer money, predicting that it would yield no new facts.

Maxwell, convicted in 2021, has appealed her conviction to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear her case last October. Her only possible route for an early release from prison could be through a presidential pardon, though the White House has remarked that this is not being considered.

Concurrent to Maxwell's impending testimony, the Department of Justice is under pressure to release remaining files related to Epstein, amid criticism over excessive redactions that obscure critical information and protect only victims' identities and active investigations.

Additionally, the House committee is evaluating contempt charges against former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, for their refusal to respond to inquiries about the Epstein investigation.