House Panel Votes To Subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee voted on Tuesday in favor of subpoenaing Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to appear for a deposition.

A motion directing Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to authorize and issue a subpoena passed by a voice vote.

“Today, I am proud to announce that the Oversight Committee approved my motion directing Chairman Comer to subpoena Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell to appear before the House Oversight Committee,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said in a statement. “This deposition will help the American people understand how Jeffrey Epstein was able to carry out his evil actions for so long without being brought to justice.”

A House Oversight Committee spokesperson told reporters, “The Committee will seek to subpoena Ms. Maxwell as expeditiously as possible. Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when” she can be deposed.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.

The voice vote happened shortly after the Department of Justice revealed that it anticipated a meeting with Maxwell in the “coming days.” That followed Attorney General Pam Bondi filing a formal request last week for a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony from the cases against Epstein and Maxwell at President Donald Trump’s behest.

A growing number of lawmakers want to push the Trump administration to reveal more information it has on Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who was found dead at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls.

However, efforts to try and pass a disclosure measure have hit a roadblock with the Rules Committee not passing a rule for bills this week, and with the House expected to depart this week for its August recess. A discharge petition from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) that would force leadership’s hand likely will not get a vote until at least September, assuming they have a sufficient number of signatures.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters on Monday that lawmakers need to give the Trump administration “space” and would consider further congressional action if it becomes necessary. On Tuesday, Johnson said House Republicans want “maximum transparency,” but he also stressed the need to be “very judicious and careful about protecting” innocent victims.