1:22 PM PT — Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus tells TMZ … “We understand Speaker Johnson’s general concern—Congress should always vet the credibility of its witnesses. But in this case, those concerns are unfounded. If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th—and that remains a big if—she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche. The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed. No previous prosecutor from the Southern District of New York or elsewhere has had the courage to meet with Ms. Maxwell and ask her these important questions.

So we are grateful to Mr. Blanche and his DOJ that they are approaching this with an open mind. That’s how our system is supposed to work. As for the Congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds.”

Ghislaine Maxwell has been subpoenaed by the United States Congress amid questions about the so-called Epstein Files.

Republican Congressman James Comer — the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chair — announced the news Wednesday … sharing a statement which reads, in part, “The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny.”

Congress wants to set the deposition for August 11 at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee, where Maxwell is incarcerated.

Maxwell was accused of soliciting and grooming minors for abuse and sex crimes from 1994 to 2004 … and was convicted on 5 counts, including sex trafficking of a minor in December 2021. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison about 6 months later.

The announcement of the subpoena comes on the same day a U.S. federal judge denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts related to one of Jeffrey Epstein’s federal investigations … with the judge claiming the department’s request didn’t meet any of the exceptions which would allow the release of such testimony.

Of course, many are demanding for the release of the files after members of the Trump administration assured the public no client list exists … a stark departure from past comments made during the presidential election last year and even earlier in his first six months in office.

President Trump himself has told curious inquirers to stop asking about Epstein … popping off angrily in a manner which some conservatives have defended.

However, a recent article by the Wall Street Journal alleging Trump drew the silhouette of a naked woman to include in a 2003 birthday letter to Epstein raised even more eyebrows … though Trump has since sued the Journal’s parent company for the story he says it total BS.