House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer pushed back forcefully Monday against any suggestion that Ghislaine Maxwell should receive clemency or special treatment after she invoked the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door congressional deposition tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Comer spoke with reporters in a congressional hallway shortly after the hearing ended, addressing questions about Maxwell’s refusal to testify and her current prison status. One reporter pressed Comer on whether it was a mistake for federal authorities to move Maxwell to a minimum-security prison and whether she should be transferred back.
“I don’t know the rationale for removing her from one person to the other,” Comer said, declining to speculate on the decision to move her. But he made clear that, in his view, Maxwell has forfeited any claim to leniency.
Comer explained that Maxwell initially sought immunity from the Oversight Committee in exchange for testimony, a request lawmakers rejected after consulting with Epstein’s survivors. He said that meeting left little doubt among members of both parties about Maxwell’s role.
“When we met with the survivors of Epstein, it was pretty clear, according to the survivors — and, you know, we had 20-some members in that meeting — that Maxwell was a very bad person and she committed a lot of crimes,” Comer said.
The Kentucky Republican said the decision not to grant immunity was bipartisan and deliberate. According to Comer, lawmakers left that meeting unified in their opposition to giving Maxwell any protection that could shield her from accountability.
“And it was the intent, in my opinion, when we left that meeting, in a bipartisan manner that we would not grant immunity,” he said.
Comer also addressed Maxwell’s reported request for presidential clemency, saying he sees no justification for it, especially given her refusal to cooperate with Congress.
“Now, what she said today, she asked for clemency from the president,” Comer said. “So, I personally, from the reason you just stated, don’t think she should be granted any type of immunity or clemency.”
Still, Comer noted that lawmakers will continue reviewing documents related to Epstein’s crimes as they become available.
“But we’ll obviously, as more documents are read and understood, then we’ll go from there,” he said.
Comer praised the Department of Justice for allowing members of Congress to review redacted versions of Epstein-related records, crediting Attorney General Pam Bondi for complying with subpoenas issued by the House Oversight Committee and following the requirements of the Epstein Transparency Act.
“I think it’s great that the Department of Justice has let members of Congress come in and look at all the redacted versions of the documents,” Comer said. He added that Bondi is doing what the law requires and what Congress demanded.
Comer said the committee’s ultimate goal remains justice for Epstein’s victims, not political theater.
“So, I think we’re finally going to get some answers,” he said. “And finally, at the end of the day, we’re going to do what our objective is in this hearing, provide justice for the survivors.”
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and was transferred last July to a minimum-security prison in Texas. The move occurred shortly after she met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and declined to implicate President Donald Trump in Epstein’s crimes.
Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving roughly 1,200 girls and women.
