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Comer: Ghislaine Maxwell Will Invoke Fifth Amendment, Refuses to Testify Before House Oversight

Rep. James Comer says Ghislaine Maxwell will invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions from the House Oversight Committee unless granted immunity. Maxwell’s attorney demanded clemency or immunity and warned she would otherwise plead the Fifth. The committee denied her requests and has subpoenaed Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Congress voted to release Epstein-related records and the president signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act; the Department of Justice has moved to unseal grand jury transcripts.

09:55 AM, 11/22/2025Politics

Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, says Ghislaine Maxwell will invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to answer questions from congressional investigators.

In an interview with Politico, Comer said Maxwell’s attorneys informed the committee she will not respond to inquiries. "Her lawyers have replied that she's not going to answer any questions," he said, adding that "she’s only going to plead the Fifth." Comer suggested the committee is unlikely to send members or staff to the Texas facility where Maxwell is being held because of the expectation that she will refuse to testify.

The Oversight Committee had subpoenaed the Justice Department for files related to Jeffrey Epstein and notified Maxwell that she was expected to testify before committee officials in July. Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, told the committee she would speak only if granted immunity and said that if she received clemency she would be willing to testify publicly before Congress in Washington, D.C.

Markus said that unless those conditions were met, "Ms. Maxwell would have no choice but to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights."

The committee declined Maxwell’s request for immunity and also rejected her demand to receive questions in advance. Comer expressed concern about spending taxpayer funds on a trip to meet a witness who is likely to refuse to answer.

The congressional inquiry into Epstein has become a political flashpoint amid criticism that not all records related to the disgraced financier had been released. After months of pressure, President Trump urged House Republicans to support the public release of the files; both chambers of Congress voted to make the materials public and the president signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law. According to reporting, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed to unseal the sealed grand jury transcripts from Epstein’s case.

Key players: Rep. James Comer; Ghislaine Maxwell; attorney David Oscar Markus; President Trump; Attorney General Pam Bondi.

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