Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed associate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday refused to testify before the US congressional committee investigating the federal government's handling of the Epstein files, citing her fifth amendment right against self-incrimination under the constitution.
Issued on: 09/02/2026 - 11:37Modified: 09/02/2026 - 17:18
Lawmakers tried Monday to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, but the former girlfriend and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein invoked her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions that would be incriminating.
She was questioned during a video call to the federal prison camp in Texas where she’s serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. She’s come under new scrutiny as lawmakers try to investigate how Epstein, a well-connected financier, was able to sexually abuse underage girls for years.
The deposition comes on the same day that the Department of Justice began allowing members of Congress to review unredacted files related to Epstein, according to a letter that was sent to lawmakers.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor. His extensive ties to the world's rich and powerful, especially after he was released in 2009, have become politically explosive across the globe.
Read moreWhich members of France's political and cultural elite are named in the Epstein files?
He died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking children in what was ruled a suicide.
Maxwell's lawyers have pushed for Congress to grant her legal immunity in order to testify in the deposition, but lawmakers refused.
Without that, her legal team said she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
"Proceeding under these circumstances would serve no other purpose than pure political theatre," her lawyers said in a letter.
Scrutiny of Trump ties
Though the deposition occured behind closed doors, Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat, published a letter of the questions he intended to ask Maxwell even if she refused to answer.
Some touch on Trump's ties to Epstein and Maxwell.
Others focus on four "co-conspirators" as well as 25 other men who allegedly "sexually abused minors at Epstein's island".
One of the questions asks: "Why do you believe they were not indicted?"
Another question claims that it is "well documented" that Maxwell, Epstein and US President Donald Trump had a "social relationship", citing several photographs of the trio together.
It further probes whether she or Epstein ever "arranged, facilitated or provided access to underage girls" to Trump.
Beyond the trafficking charges, Maxwell will also be asked if she had any knowledge of Epstein sharing "information" with "foreign governments or intelligence services" with Russia and Israel used as examples.
The Trump administration's handling of Maxwell's case has again come under fire.
Last year Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas after meeting twice with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal lawyer.
Trump himself was a longtime Epstein associate, but has not been called to testify by the Oversight Committee, which is led by members of his Republican Party.
Trump has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein's activities.
Also expected to be deposed by the committee are former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, both Democrats.
The Clintons have called for their depositions to be held publicly to prevent Republicans from politicising their testimony.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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