• Maxwell read a prepared statement and then invoked blanket Fifth Amendment protections, declining all substantive questions from the House Oversight Committee
• Her attorney had demanded immunity or clemency from Trump in exchange for testimony — Congress refused both conditions
• Five more depositions are scheduled including Les Wexner on Feb. 18 and Bill and Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26 and 27

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer any questions during a virtual deposition before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday, Feb. 9. The appearance — conducted via video link from Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, where Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence — lasted only long enough for her to read a prepared statement before asserting blanket constitutional protections.

“As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the Fifth and refused to answer any questions. This obviously is very disappointing.”

That was James Comer (R-KY), the committee chairman, speaking to reporters immediately after the deposition concluded. He added that the committee had “many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators.”

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The committee’s ranking Democrat was equally blunt.

“After months of defying our subpoena, Ghislaine Maxwell finally appeared before the Oversight Committee and said nothing. She answered no questions and provided no information about the men who raped and trafficked women and girls.”

That was Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), whose statement underscored the rare bipartisan frustration at Maxwell’s refusal to cooperate.

The Immunity Standoff

Maxwell’s silence was not a surprise. Her attorney, David Markus, had warned the committee in a letter last summer that she would invoke the Fifth unless Congress granted her immunity or President Donald Trump offered clemency. The committee rejected both conditions.

“Proceeding under these circumstances would serve no other purpose than pure political theater.”

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That was the assessment from Maxwell’s legal team in their letter to Comer, characterizing the deposition as performative given the predetermined outcome.

The committee had initially subpoenaed Maxwell in July 2025. After months of negotiation, Comer agreed to delay the deposition until after the Supreme Court declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal in October, which had challenged her 2021 conviction on federal sex-trafficking charges.

The Questions She Refused to Answer

Though the deposition was closed-door, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) — who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act — publicly released the seven questions he intended to ask Maxwell, making them part of the official record regardless of her silence.

Khanna’s questions went directly at the case’s most explosive unanswered issues. He asked Maxwell to identify the “four named co-conspirators” and 25 men who she herself had cited in a December 2025 habeas corpus petition as having entered into secret settlements and avoided indictment. He asked what evidence she possessed about why those individuals were never charged.

The fourth question was the most politically charged: “It is well documented that you, President Donald Trump, and Mr. Epstein had a social relationship, and there are several photographs of you together. Did you or Mr. Epstein ever arrange, facilitate, or provide access to underage girls to President Trump?”

He also asked whether Maxwell or anyone acting on her behalf had discussed a pardon or reduced sentence with Trump or his representatives after the president publicly stated he would “look at” the possibility.

The final two questions asked Maxwell to identify any client lists she or Epstein maintained and whether Epstein had ties to foreign intelligence services, specifically naming Russia and Israel.

Khanna noted what he called an inconsistency in Maxwell’s position.

“This position appears inconsistent with Ms. Maxwell’s prior conduct, as she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment when she previously met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss substantially similar subject matter.”

The Blanche Interviews

That reference carries significant weight. Maxwell sat for two days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in 2025 — during which she answered questions about her relationship with Epstein and others in his orbit. In those interviews, according to reports, Maxwell denied the existence of any Epstein “client list”, rejected allegations of a blackmail operation and described Trump as “cordial” and a “gentleman.”

Blanche previously served as Trump’s personal defense attorney before becoming deputy attorney general. The fact that Maxwell spoke freely to a Trump appointee but invoked the Fifth before a bipartisan congressional committee has drawn scrutiny from both sides.

Shortly after the deposition, Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas from her previous facility in Florida — a transfer that occurred after her meetings with Blanche and which critics have cited as raising questions about whether her cooperation with the DOJ came with benefits.

Survivors Warned Congress

Ahead of the deposition, Epstein survivors sent a letter to committee members urging them not to allow Maxwell’s appearance to become a platform for revisionism.

“To this day, Ms. Maxwell has refused to identify the many powerful men involved in the trafficking operation. She has also been dishonest about the vast sums of money she received as a result of her role in facilitating sexual abuse.”

The survivors urged Congress to approach her testimony “with the utmost skepticism” and to “ensure that this process does not become another vehicle through which survivors are harmed or silenced.”

That concern proved prophetic in a different way. Maxwell’s blanket refusal meant that neither survivors nor the public received any new information — while the deposition itself consumed another day of a process that has stretched across months without producing accountability for the individuals Maxwell herself has acknowledged exist.

What Comes Next

Comer announced that the committee has five more depositions scheduled. Les Wexner, the retail executive and longtime Epstein financial client, is set to testify Feb. 18. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled for Feb. 26, and former President Bill Clinton for Feb. 27. Also expected are Richard Kahn, Epstein’s accountant, and Darren Indyke, his lawyer.

The Clintons’ depositions came after a standoff that nearly resulted in a full House vote to hold them in contempt of Congress. They agreed to appear just days before the vote was expected. Hillary Clinton has publicly called for the proceedings to be open to cameras.

“You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on. We will be there.”

Comer responded that Clinton was attempting to “move the goal posts” and that the transcript and video from her closed-door deposition would be released afterward.

Separately, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced on X that he planned to view the unredacted Epstein files at the Department of Justice reading room, which opened to congressional members today. Lawmakers may take handwritten notes but cannot bring electronic devices.

An Economist/YouGov poll from January found that 56% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, while a CNN poll found that only 6% say they are satisfied with what the government has released. Nearly half of Republicans, three-quarters of independents and nine in 10 Democrats said the government was withholding information.

When the person most directly involved in facilitating a decade-long trafficking operation refuses to identify co-conspirators before Congress but speaks freely to the president’s former personal attorney, what does that reveal about the structure shaping who gets accountability — and who doesn’t?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from CBS News’ confirmation of Maxwell’s Fifth Amendment invocation, Fox News’ reporting on the deposition outcome and upcoming witnesses, NBC News’ live coverage of the Maxwell deposition and congressional file access, Rep. Ro Khanna’s official letter with seven questions for Maxwell, The Hill’s reporting on Maxwell’s Fifth Amendment plans and Khanna’s questions, Mediaite’s coverage of Khanna’s Trump-related questions, Spectrum News’ timeline of the deposition negotiations, U.S. News’ reporting on Maxwell’s prepared statement plan, Al Arabiya’s coverage including Clintons’ upcoming depositions, the Wikipedia article on the Epstein Files Transparency Act for polling data, and RTE News’ reporting on the broader political context.

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