Questions Congress Might Have for Ghislaine Maxwell
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Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, may soon offer new insights to Congress about her knowledge of—and involvement in—the late financier's sexual abuse network.
On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Maxwell—currently serving a 20-year sentence in Florida following her conviction on federal sex trafficking charges in 2021—to testify remotely next month.
Maxwell has already taken part in a meeting with the Department of Justice, during which she answered "every single question," according to her attorney, David Oscar Markus, and is set to do so again on Friday. However, experts believe congressional testimony could shed new light on the saga that has for weeks dominated headlines and captivated the American public.
"She is the Rosetta Stone," Harvard Law professor and former Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz told Fox News this week. "She knows everything. She arranged every single trip with everybody."
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell enters the courtroom escorted by U.S. marshals at the start of her trial on November 29, 2021, in New York.
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell enters the courtroom escorted by U.S. marshals at the start of her trial on November 29, 2021, in New York.
Elizabeth Williams/AP Photo/File photo
What Questions Could Congress Ask Maxwell?
Newsweek spoke with experts in the case and the crimes in which Maxwell was involved, about what questions Congress could ask should her testimony take place.
Matthew Mangino
Mangino, the former district attorney of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, told Newsweek that there are still several pieces of information Maxwell could divulge, given that she never testified at the 2021 trial, primarily regarding her former accomplice's associates.
"She was Epstein's co-conspirator," he told Newsweek. "Presumably, she knows who partied with Epstein, where they partied and what they did during the partying."
Mangino said Congress should question Maxwell about whether she coordinated travel for Epstein, who accompanied him on these trips, whether President Donald Trump was among them, as well as which members of Epstein's social network were involved in the sexual assault of underaged girls.
Mangino hopes her testimony would provide be greater clarity around whether Epstein—through Maxwell—solicited underage girls for influential men in business, entertainment, sports and government.
Jeffrey Abramson
Abramson believes Maxwell, as one Epstein's closest associates, should be asked about the existence of the "client list" he is alleged to have possessed, and whether there are names on the list of persons involved in the abuse of underage girls that have never been made public.
Abramson, an emeritus professor of law and government at the University of Texas at Austin, believes Maxwell may also be able to provide more details on The Wall Street Journal's recent report that Trump sent Epstein an illustrated birthday card in 2003.
Donald Trump and then-girlfriend, former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000.
Donald Trump and then-girlfriend, former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000.However, Abramson said a "complicating factor" in the case is that Trump could pardon Maxwell, who was convicted of federal crimes.
"Maxwell should be asked whether anyone in the DOJ or Trump administration has promised her anything in exchange for how she testifies," he said.
"If Congress offers Ghislaine Maxwell immunity for her testimony, then there is a very good chance that Maxwell will obey a subpoena to testify, probably before the House Oversight Committee. The type of immunity she would get is called 'use immunity,' which guarantees she would not be prosecuted for anything she says during her congressional testimony."
Spencer Kuvin
Maxwell appearing in an open session would allow the public to get a first-hand look at her story and her credibility, said Kuvin, a Florida lawyer who represented several of Epstein's victims.
"She has been linked to one of the most infamous pedophiles in history," he told Newsweek. "She will undoubtedly be able to shed light on all of the individuals that they supplied young girls to over the years and the potential influence that they were seeking to gain."
Kuvin said he would like to see Congress ask Maxwell to identify by name those who visited Epstein at his mansion in the Virgin Islands; whether there is video evidence of these visits; and whether the pair provided underaged girls to any politicians, corporate executives or celebrities.
Marci A. Hamilton
Hamilton is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, CEO of child rights-focused think tank CHILD USA, and previously worked as a consultant for the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program.
Hamilton told Newsweek that, based on the information already known, the most valuable thing that could come from Maxwell's testimony would be confirmation of the men who played the "most salient role" in helping to orchestrate Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
"Who was it who was identifying the girls that were ready for abuse because they were already in a difficult situation and wanted to be a model?" she said as an example. "I would want to ask her: Who were the men that were most frequently with Epstein, either in New York City or in Palm Beach or in New Mexico. Who were the men that kept coming back.
"The reality is that Epstein wasn't abusing one girl a day. There were multiple incidents every day. He was a monster. And she made it happen."
However, Hamilton said that Maxwell's status as a "reputable witness" was questionable, given the severity of her crimes and the two perjury charges stemming from allegedly false claims made while under oath in a 2016 civil case. Prosecutors declined to move forward with the perjury charges following her conviction in 2021.
"Relying on her, either from the Trump administration or Congress, is in my view a fool's errand," she said.
Deborah Tuerkheimer
Tuerkheimer, author of Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers, said that, as well as active participants, questions need to be asked about those who were aware of Epstein's abuse, and who tacitly contributed to it by interacting with him in ways that normalized his behavior and expanded his influence within powerful groups.
She added that several questions also surround his legal treatment, in particular the 2008 non-prosecution deal—or "sweetheart plea deal"—that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges for the sexual abuse of minors and serve only a 13-month sentence in state prison.
"When you sort of put all of this together, you see that there's a real cast of characters here that you could think of as enabling this behavior," she said.
However, against Dershowitz's suggestion that Maxwell could be the "Rosetta Stone" for the entire case, Tuerkheimer said she was skeptical that Maxwell "is the key to unlocking this."
Tuerkheimer said rather than a "myopic focus" on Maxwell, whose testimony may be suspect, many questions surrounding who was involved in the abuse could be answered by the victims.
"There's sort of many dozens of victims of Epstein who stand, I think, ready to supply an account," she said.
David Oscar Markus, attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, on July 24, 2025.
David Oscar Markus, attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, on July 24, 2025.
John Raoux/AP Photo
What Happens Next
It remains unclear whether Maxwell will testify. On Wednesday, her attorney said that if Maxwell chooses to testify before the House Oversight Committee, she would do so "truthfully."
Dershowitz has said that, if given use immunity—meaning comments given cannot be used in a subsequent prosecution—Maxwell could be "compelled to testify."
"I'm told that she actually would be willing to testify," he added.
As Tuerkheimer told Newsweek: Congressional hearing or not, the Epstein story "is not something that is going to go away. This is not something that people will let drop."
"This is a child sex trafficking set of crimes, in which powerful men have gotten away with it," Hamilton said. "And at this point, it doesn't matter what administration it is, the American people deserve the truth because they deserve to understand how this happened and how it can be prevented."
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