Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, is set to appear before a US congressional committee next month.
The British former socialite, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking, will appear virtually before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on 9 February.
Committee chair James Comer said her lawyers have indicated she plans to “plead the Fifth”, referring to her rights under the Fifth Amendment of the US constitution to decline to speak to authorities.
“I hope she changes her mind, because I want to hear from her,” he said.
There has been growing pressure from Democrats to press contempt of Congress charges against Maxwell, as well as US attorney general Pam Bondi, over the delayed release of Epstein-related documents.
Maxwell, 64, was originally served with a subpoena in July last year to appear the following month, but the committee has declined to grant her immunity in return for testimony.
Clintons face contempt of Congress
Mr Comer announced the scheduled deposition during a meeting in which the committee also voted to advance contempt of Congress resolutions against former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Both had declined to comply with subpoenas calling them to testify before Congress over their relationship with Epstein, arguing they serve no legislative purpose.
They have both submitted written statements to the committee and their lawyers have negotiated with Mr Comer behind the scenes.
A spokesman for the Clintons, Angel Urena, said on X they had tried to help with the investigation, but “both Clintons have been out of office for over a decade”.
“Neither had anything to do with him for more than 20 years,” he said.
Mr Clinton’s friendship with the financier is well-documented throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, but he has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
Where are we with the Epstein files?
The Oversight Committee is investigating Epstein’s network and the government’s handling of records tied to the case.
The US Justice Department has faced criticism over its failure to make public all Epstein-related documents.
Only a small proportion of the documents, which US law mandates should only be withheld to protect victims’ identities or active criminal investigations, have been published.
Thousands were published, many with redactions, after Donald Trump – under pressure from Republicans – signed legislation requiring the department to release the files it holds on Epstein.
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Maxwell appealed against her conviction to the US Supreme Court in October, but it refused to hear her case.
Ranking Democratic committee member representative Robert Garcia accused the US Department of Justice on Wednesday of giving “special treatment” to Maxwell.
“For months, Ghislaine Maxwell has defied the subpoena ordering her to testify to the Oversight Committee,” he said in a statement.
“After pressure from Oversight Democrats, Chairman Comer has finally decided to call her in to testify. But let’s be clear: the cover-up is continuing. She has gotten special treatment from the DOJ for months. Let’s end the cover-up now.”
