--- title: House Panel Votes to Subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell; DOJ Official to Meet With Her description: The Justice Department plans to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned associate of Jeffrey Epstein. She also may testify before Congress. canonical: https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-22T14:20:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-22T17:20:53.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ghislaine Maxwell to Meet With Trump Official About Epstein og:description: “If she were just given use immunity, she could be compelled to testify,” said a former Epstein lawyer. og:url: https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3a6092dbd750327/6998c8831500fb5659aa6765/GettyImages-590696434.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Patrick McMullan Archives og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ghislaine Maxwell to Meet With Trump Official About Epstein twitter:description: “If she were just given use immunity, she could be compelled to testify,” said a former Epstein lawyer. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3a6092dbd750327/6998c8831500fb5659aa6765/GettyImages-590696434.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Official to Meet with Ghislaine Maxwell Amid Pressure Over Epstein Files > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jul 22, 2025 5:20 PM UTCPublished: Jul 22, 2025 2:20 PM UTC  Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are seen at a charity event at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on March 15, 2005. Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are seen at a charity event at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on March 15, 2005. Joe Schildhorn—Patrick McMullan via Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jul 22, 2025 5:20 PM UTCPublished: Jul 22, 2025 2:20 PM UTC The Justice Department is preparing to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisonedlongtime associate of [Jeffrey Epstein](https://time.com/7302995/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-jd-vance/), as the Trump Administration faces [pressure to unearth](https://time.com/7304138/epstein-files-house-republicans/) new evidence in the case of the deceased financier and release long-promised files related to Epstein’s network. “Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know? Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said [in an X post ](https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1947623916538617946)on Tuesday. "At @AGPamBondi’s direction, I’ve contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits.” Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking and related offenses, has long been viewed by federal investigators as a potential source of information about Epstein’s network. Her lawyer, David Oscar Marcus, wrote on X: “I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.” Separately on Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee approved a motion by Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, to subpoena Maxwell to testify before Congress “as expeditiously as possible.” “Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when Committee can depose her,” the committee said in a statement. Both the Justice Department’s outreach and the Congressional action comes as the Trump Administration faces backlash over its handling of the Epstein case after a joint DOJ-FBI report said there was no further evidence to release. Soon after the report, Trump [lashed out](https://time.com/7302661/trump-jeffrey-epstein-hoax/) at his own supporters who continued to call on him to release the files. “My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull—t,’ hook, line, and sinker,” he wrote on Truth Social last week. “I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump has since directed the Justice Department to make public years-old grand jury testimony against Epstein. **Read more:** [_Trump Administration Requests Release of Epstein Grand Jury Files. What Happens Next?_](https://time.com/7303784/trump-administration-doj-grand-jury-epstein-files-release-motion/) The sudden decision to release grand jury testimony and seek a meeting with Maxwell marks a notable shift for Bondi and appears aimed at appeasing a political base that remains fixated on Epstein’s ties to the powerful and the still-unanswered questions surrounding his death. During Trump’s presidential campaign, many of his surrogates who now occupy top posts in his Administration repeatedly [stoked expectations](https://time.com/7302995/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-jd-vance/) that explosive revelations in the Epstein case were imminent, often suggesting prosecutions were coming and that thousands of pages of damning material would be released if Trump were elected. Still, even some of Trump’s staunchest allies [have expressed skepticism](https://time.com/7303784/trump-administration-doj-grand-jury-epstein-files-release-motion/) over the DOJ’s timeline and transparency. “Today’s statement by Pam Bondi seems like a massive cope,” right-wing activist and Trump loyalist Laura Loomer [wrote on X](https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1947651316127297775). “Why wasn’t this ‘interview’ with Ghislaine Maxwell done on day 1?” Loomer questioned whether the Justice Department had ever previously interviewed Maxwell, adding, “Shouldn’t they have already done this?” Administration officials now appear to be suggesting that Maxwell could help fill in those gaps. “If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche wrote in a statement also shared by Bondi. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to recruit and groom underage girls for sexual abuse. Alan Dershowitz, Epstein’s former defense lawyer, suggested recently that Maxwell is prepared to testify before Congress if offered immunity. “She is the Rosetta Stone. She knows everything. She arranged every single trip with everybody,” Dershowitz said on [Fox News Sunday](https://www.foxnews.com/us/epsteins-former-lawyer-ghislaine-maxwell-should-get-immunity-exchange-secrets)**.** “If she were just given use immunity, she could be compelled to testify,” he added. “I’m told that she actually would be willing to testify, and there’d be no reason for her to withhold any information.” **Read more:** [_Trump and Epstein Photo Is Placed Near U.S. Embassy in London as Protesters Rally Against President’s U.K. Visits_](https://time.com/7303911/trump-united-kingdom-scotland-state-visit-protests-epstein-image/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/"},"headline":"Trump Official to Meet with Ghislaine Maxwell Amid Pressure Over Epstein Files","datePublished":"2025-07-22T14:20:57.000Z","dateModified":"2025-07-22T17:20:53.000Z","description":"Maxwell may testify before Congress soon as well","url":"https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/","keywords":["Trump Administration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3a6092dbd750327/6998c8831500fb5659aa6765/GettyImages-590696434.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3a6092dbd750327/6998c8831500fb5659aa6765/GettyImages-590696434.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Patrick McMullan Archives","caption":"Patrick McMullan Archives","creditText":"Joe Schildhorn—Patrick McMullan via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/","name":"Trump Official to Meet with Ghislaine Maxwell Amid Pressure Over Epstein Files"}}]}] ```