A convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been subpoenaed by the U.S. House Oversight Committee for testimony about her relationship with Epstein. Her lawyer tells the Sun they have not determined whether she will comply. 

Ms. Maxwell is serving a lengthy prison sentence in Florida for her role in child sex trafficking, among other crimes. Having been a former girlfriend and confidant of Epstein for decades, lawmakers believe she holds key information about Epstein’s operations and connections with some of the world’s most powerful individuals. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Comer issued his subpoena for Ms. Maxwell to testify before the committee on August 11. The panel’s staff and some lawmakers would be required to travel to Florida to conduct their deposition of Ms. Maxwell in the prison where she is now being held. 

“The Department of Justice is cooperating and will help facilitate the deposition at the prison,” Mr. Comer said in a post on X. 

Ms. Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, tells the Sun in a statement that there is a chance his client will simply invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. 

“If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th — and that remains a big if — she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche,” Mr. Markus tells the Sun. “The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed.”

“Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds,” Mr. Markus says. Ms. Maxwell is set to soon meet with a deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, to discuss the so-called Epstein files and related matters. 

Speaking to reporters late Tuesday, Mr. Comer said that there are some technical things the committee must work around, considering Ms. Maxwell is still appealing her conviction. 

“What we’re talking about here is someone who’s in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms,” Mr. Comer told reporters. “If there are no terms, we’ll roll in there quick.”

“There’ll be so many members of Congress that’ll want to be in that prison,” he added. Mr. Comer says there is a possibility that they will also request documents from Ms. Maxwell, though they have not yet gotten to the point where they are discussing that with her attorney. 

There has been a groundswell from the Republican Party’s base to push for the release of the Epstein files, which President Trump promised to do during his campaign last year. In just the last week, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Mr. Trump sent a crude birthday card to Epstein in the early 2000s, and was told by Attorney General Bondi that his name was found in the justice department’s files on Epstein. Mr. Trump says both reports are untrue. 

Ms. Bondi is now seeking to unseal some of the grand jury testimony related to Epstein’s arrest, though on Wednesday a federal judge blocked the justice department’s request in Florida. The judge wrote in her order that her “hands are tied” due to the precedent of the Eleventh Circuit. The Trump administration is still trying to have separate records unsealed in New York.