Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has yet to decide whether she will comply with a congressional subpoena to testify about his abuse of underage girls and potential involvement of others, her lawyer has indicated. David Oscar Markus told Politico that a decision is pending, with the testimony scheduled for the week of August 11th, but no confirmation has been given to the committee.
The subpoena, issued by the House Oversight Committee in a bipartisan vote, could be resisted by Maxwell invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, although Congress might offer her immunity. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, and has sought to overturn her conviction in the Supreme Court. Her lawyer also noted that she is hoping for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.
Maxwell recently sat for an in-depth interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in Florida, during which she answered questions about “100 different people,” according to her lawyer. The interview has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who argue that any private discussions between Maxwell and the Trump administration’s Justice Department represent a conflict of interest, given the political pressure over the Epstein case and Trump’s personal ties to the disgraced financier.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the interview on X, stating: “Under no circumstances should anyone from Trump’s DOJ be allowed to privately interview Ghislaine Maxwell. The conflict of interest is glaring. It stinks of high corruption.” The controversy comes amid a broader battle over the release of Epstein-related information, with the Department of Justice having announced earlier this month that no “Epstein client list” exists and that no further disclosures would be made, a decision that has infuriated parts of Trump’s support base.
President Trump, who has previously dismissed the scandal as a Democrat-led “scam” and “con job,” has also filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Dow Jones over a Wall Street Journal report that he sent a “bawdy” birthday letter to Epstein. The emergence of these disputes has created a rare rift between Trump and some of his own supporters, who had campaigned on releasing more information about Epstein, with the White House’s earlier “Phase 1” disclosure in February proving largely redacted or already public.
