Speaker Johnson questions if Ghislaine Maxwell can ‘be counted on to tell the truth'
The comments came one day after a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee voted to subpoena Maxwell to have her appear for a deposition. Also on Tuesday, a senior official at the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached out to Maxwell's lawyers about setting up a meeting with her.
Johnson, however, is questioning if Maxwell would offer truthful testimony.
'I fully support my committee chairs, Jamie Comer is a trusted friend, he's an excellent chairman of the Oversight Committee, and he has a duty and responsibility to follow the truth where it leads,' Johnson said when asked if he supports the panel's move. 'And so every single one of us are for maximum transparency, and we'll use every power that we have to ensure that that's done. If they see fit to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony, that's fine.'
'I will note the obvious concern, the caveat that Chairman Comer and I and everyone has that, can she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness?' he added. 'I mean, this is a person who's been sentenced to many, many years in prison for terrible, unspeakable, conspiratorial acts. Acts against innocent young people.'
He continued, asking: 'Can we trust what she's gonna say, even if she raises her hand and says that she'll testify under oath?'
'Is that something that can be trusted? You know, that's a reasonable question. Is that credible evidence?' he added. 'I don't know, but we'll have to see. We have to, you know, uncover everything that we can and let the American people evaluate.'
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 after being found guilty of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.
Johnson's comments come as the Republican Party remains at odds over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case, which has roiled Capitol Hill for two weeks and prompted Johnson to send lawmakers home for the extended August recess a day early.
Democrats and a number of Republicans are demanding the release of all the Epstein files, requesting transparency in the case that has been a subject of conversation and conspiracies for years. Trump, meanwhile, has tried to tamp down the controversy.
In a sign of the fracturing, the House came to a partial standstill this week and last week as lawmakers tried to force a vote to compel the administration to publish the documents.
Democrats on the House Rules Committee planned to force a vote on a bipartisan resolution — led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — this week, but Republicans, concerned about voting down the measure, as is customary for members of the majority when facing a measure led by the minority party, said they would not do so.
That came after Republicans on the panel opposed a similar measure last week, prompting serious pushback from constituents at home. As a result, Republicans on the Rules Committee advanced a non-binding resolution last week calling for the release of some information from the case.
Democrats, however, are still pressing for a vote on the bipartisan measure, leading to this week's standstill and preventing the House from voting on any legislation through regular order. Instead, the chamber is processing non-controversial legislation through the fast-track suspension of the rules process.
Amid the freeze, Republicans are attempting other avenues to get information. On Tuesday, during an unrelated hearing for an Oversight subcommittee, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) moved to direct the panel to authorize and issue a subpoena for Maxwell to appear for a deposition, which passed by voice vote.
Johnson on Tuesday defended his handling of the situation, telling reporters: 'No one in Congress is blocking Epstein documents.'
'No one in Congress is doing that,' he added. 'What we are doing here, Republicans are preventing Democrats from making a mockery of the Rules Committee process because we refuse to engage in their political charade. That is what is happening and nothing more.'
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