In July 2025, after the U.S. Department of Justice said convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein did not keep a "client list" (contrary to long-standing rumors), a claim circulated online that Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell offered to testify before Congress about his activities and the supposed client list.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein — who killed himself in his jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019 — sexually abuse underage girls.
One X post that shared the claim about Maxwell offering to testify before Congress garnered more than 750,000 views as of this writing:
Similar claims about Maxwell's offer to testify before Congress made the rounds on Facebook and Reddit. A Facebook post shared on July 14, 2025, read:
Sources say Ghislaine Maxwell is willing to testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein's alleged network and the so-called client list. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking, is also appealing her conviction and awaiting a response from the U.S. government as her case heads to the Supreme Court. Her potential testimony has reignited debate in Washington over transparency, accountability, and the handling of the Epstein investigation.
Snopes readers also searched our website to ask whether the claim that Maxwell offered to testify before Congress about Epstein and his client list was true.
The claim stemmed from a report published by the Daily Mail on July 13, 2025. The Daily Mail's reporting relied on anonymous sources, so Snopes was unable to replicate or confirm it.
Snopes reached out to Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, for comment and will update this story if we receive a response.
Daily Mail's report about Maxwell
Maxwell was "willing to speak in front of Congress about The Epstein Files," the Daily Mail wrote in a report published on July 13, 2025, citing unnamed sources. The article's headline read: "Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is ready to reveal truth about the 'pedophile client list', say insiders."
In the article, the Daily Mail reported that a source said, "Despite the rumors, Ghislaine was never offered any kind of plea deal. She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story." The source added:
No-one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows. She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein and she would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.
Additionally, a source close to Maxwell reportedly told the Daily Mail that she would "welcome the chance to sit in front of Congress and tell her story." The source was quoted as saying:
Congressional hearings have been held into everything from JFK's assassination to 9/11. The Epstein Files rank up there with those cases. Ghislaine would be willing to speak before Congress and tell her story.
Because the Daily Mail's reporting relied on anonymous sources, Snopes was unable to replicate it. Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Snopes also asked the Daily Mail if it could provide evidence corroborating its report and we will update this story if we receive a response.
DOJ said Epstein 'client list' doesn't exist
In a DOJ and FBI memo shared in July 2025, the federal agencies said Epstein did not keep a "client list" and confirmed no additional files related to the investigation would be made public.
A review of "investigative holdings" related to Epstein "revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" the DOJ and FBI wrote in the memo. The agencies continued:
There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.
According to the memo, the DOJ and FBI also determined that "no further disclosure" of information related to the Epstein investigation "would be appropriate or warranted."
The assertion that Epstein did not have a "client list" walks back a theory that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration helped promote, as The Associated Press reported. For example, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in February 2025 that the Epstein client list was "sitting on my desk right now to review," citing a "directive" from Trump.
DOJ urged Supreme Court to reject Maxwell's appeal
In July 2025, the DOJ urged the Supreme Court to reject an appeal from Maxwell, court records show.
Maxwell urged the court earlier in the year to review her case, "arguing that a co-conspirator's clause in Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida barred her subsequent prosecution in New York," ABC News reported. A federal appeals court had already upheld Maxwell's conviction on sex-trafficking charges.
In a brief submitted to the Supreme Court in July 2025, DOJ lawyers said Maxwell's argument was "incorrect" and said she "does not show that it would succeed in any court of appeals."
It's ultimately up to the Supreme Court to decide whether it will hear Maxwell's case.
In a statement released on July 14, 2025, Maxwell's attorney reportedly alluded to the controversy over the Trump administration's decision not to release additional information related to Epstein.
According to ABC News, Markus wrote:
I'd be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal. He's the ultimate dealmaker—and I'm sure he'd agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it. With all the talk about who's being prosecuted and who isn't, it's especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the government made and broke.
For further reading, Snopes investigated whether a viral photo shows Epstein and Trump posing with a young girl.