GOP's latest Epstein drama: House panel to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell
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Rep. James Comer at a House Oversight Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on June 12. Photo: Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The House Oversight Committee will subpoena imprisoned Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to testify at a deposition.
Why it matters: Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who introduced the motion to compel Maxwell's testimony, said he did not consult President Trump beforehand.
- Trump has been trying to put the issue to bed amid bipartisan efforts to force the Justice Department to release its documents on Epstein.
- The Justice Department announced Tuesday morning — hours before Burchett's motion — that it would seek to interview Maxwell.
What we're hearing: Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) directed Burchett to introduce the motion and will seek to subpoena Maxwell "as expeditiously as possible," a committee spokesperson told Axios.
- Comer told Axios he also did not speak with the White House or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) about the matter.
- Burchett sent Comer a letter last week urging him to bring Maxwell in to testify.
Zoom out: Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after a federal jury found her guilty of helping Epstein sexually traffic teenage girls.
- Maxwell has denied abusing anyone and said she has been made a scapegoat after Epstein died while in prison in 2019, a charge prosecutors have denied.
- Maxwell has petitioned the Supreme Court to review her case, arguing that it violated a non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida.
What they're saying: "She's the last one standing. There's nobody else alive that can tell us anything. ... I'd like to get her there before she's allowed to commit suicide as well. I'm just tired of it," Burchett told reporters.
- He said he believes Maxwell could "tell us the operation, how it went down, who were the supporters of it. ... Ultimately, I'd like to see justice."
- "I have not spoken to Trump about it at all," Burchett added. "He has my number. I have his."
Between the lines: "Our committee is very interested in getting to the bottom of the whole Epstein saga," Comer told reporters, hinting at the growing unrest on the issue from lawmakers in both parties.
- "I know that President Trump has said he's going to release all the information they have," the Kentucky Republican said, "but we have members that want to go a little bit further, be a little more aggressive."
- Comer added: "I haven't communicated with the White House. This is what the House Oversight Committee wanted ... and the Republicans on the committee overwhelmingly support doing this."
The other side: House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said in a statement that the subpoena is an "evasive ploy to obscure the fact that they are not doing the one thing they promised to do ... which is release the Epstein file."
- "Of course, Members will welcome the opportunity to question ... Ms. Maxwell," he told Axios.
- "But, given that Ms. Maxwell's hopes for freedom depend on clemency and a pardon from President Trump, her testimony about Trump, his relationship with Epstein and the extent of Trump's role in any conspiracy simply has no reliability."
What's next: Burchett and Comer both acknowledged to reporters that Maxwell's current imprisonment will make it more difficult to get her to sit for a deposition.
- "She's in jail, which makes it complicated. ... It's going to require a lot of communication back and forth between attorneys, but the bottom line is we're going to be aggressive and try to talk to her as quick as possible."
- Comer will also coordinate with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in his efforts to interview Maxwell, the committee spokesperson said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
