February 9, 2026

Good Monday evening. In this edition: Maxwell pleads the Fifth and lawmakers slam DOJ for Epstein redactions.

• Plus, DHS funding, tariffs, Bad Bunny, Armenia, Columbus and time capsule.

Epstein Probe

Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion and accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid self-incrimination during a closed-door, virtual deposition before the House Oversight Committee.

• "Unfortunately, she had an opportunity today to answer questions that every American has — questions that would be very important in this investigation — and she chose to invoke the Fifth Amendment," Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the panel's chair, told reporters after the deposition.
  
  

• "It was very disappointing," he added. "We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators."

Ms. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after a federal jury found her guilty of helping Mr. Epstein traffic teenage girls. She denies abusing anyone and says she was made a scapegoat following Mr. Epstein's death in prison in 2019.

• She currently has a petition pending in federal court seeking to overturn her conviction or reduce her sentence.

David Oscar Markus, one of her attorneys, told lawmakers that Ms. Maxwell "would answer questions if she were granted clemency," a proposition President Trump has repeatedly declined to rule out.

• "Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters," Mr. Markus said in an opening statement to the committee.
  
  

• "For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation."

Rep. Comer said it would not be appropriate for Ms. Maxwell to receive clemency given the severity of her crimes.

• "I personally … don't think she should be granted any type of immunity or clemency," he told reporters, adding that he had "no idea" whether she was refusing to testify due to political pressure.

Democrats said Ms. Maxwell's refusal to answer questions was part of an effort to secure a pardon from President Trump — something they say should not happen.

• "She is campaigning over and over again to get that pardon from President Trump, and this president has not ruled it out," Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) said. "And so that is why she is continuing to not cooperate with our investigation."

Rep. Comer said the panel has five additional depositions on the calendar, including with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who are set to appear for closed-door, recorded depositions later this month.

• The Clintons have not been implicated in Mr. Epstein's crimes and have requested that their testimony be held in a public forum, a request committee Republicans have so far rejected.

The Maxwell deposition came the same day the Justice Department began allowing members of Congress to review unredacted versions of the Epstein files.

• The DOJ said last month it had completed its release of the files, publishing roughly 3 million pages of documents along with thousands of photos and videos, though about half of the materials have not been made public.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said the Justice Department made "tons of mysterious redactions" to the files before releasing them, calling the move "troubling" and saying it "raises questions."

• "I think that the Department of Justice has been in a cover-up mode for many months and has been trying to sweep the entire thing under the rug," he told reporters after viewing some of the unredacted documents.

The Maryland congressman said the law allows redactions to protect victims, but not to shield Mr. Epstein's alleged accomplices.

• "I was able to determine, at least I believe, that there were tons of unnecessary redactions, in addition to the failure to redact the names of victims. And so that's troubling to us," he said. "I saw the names of lots of people who were redacted for mysterious or baffling or inscrutable reasons."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who helped lead the discharge petition that resulted in the law mandating the files' release, echoed the same concerns about redactions.

• "What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that had been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files," he told reporters.

The Kentucky Republican, who viewed the files with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), said the group includes at least one U.S. citizen and one foreign national.

• The lawmakers also said one of the six is a high-ranking foreign government official, while another is a "prominent individual."

Watch the remarks from Reps. Comer, Subramanyam, Raskin and Massie.

In other news…

• Lawmakers are facing a Friday midnight deadline to find a path forward on funding for the Homeland Security Department. Negotiations have moved slowly amid Democrats' demands to reform immigration enforcement operations, though the White House sent a counterproposal this afternoon. Even so, it is very unlikely that lawmakers will be able to pass a potential reform by the end of the week, meaning Congress will need to approve another stopgap funding measure or allow the department's funding to lapse. Even if funding lapses, ICE operations are expected to continue due to the significant influx of funding the agency received through Republicans' "one big, beautiful" bill passed last summer.
  
  

• House Democrats are looking to force a vote this week on a measure to repeal President Trump's tariffs on Canada, a vote that could succeed since Democrats would only need to flip a pair of Republicans due to their ultra-thin majority. House GOP leaders had been blocking such resolutions from coming to the floor through a rule they approved last year. They were unable to renew that prohibition due to opposition from a handful of Republican members, including Reps. Don Bacon (NE) and Kevin Kiley (CA).
  
  

• President Trump slammed Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance as "one of the worst" in history, calling it an "affront to the Greatness of America." Republicans had been railing against the Puerto Rican artist's selection for months, and Turning Point USA even hosted a competing performance featuring Kid Rock. "Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting," the president wrote about Bad Bunny. "This 'Show' is just a 'slap in the face' to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History!"
  
  

• Vice President JD Vance met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan as the Trump administration seeks to advance a U.S.-brokered peace deal aimed at ending the decades-long conflict with Azerbaijan. The visit marks the first time a sitting U.S. president or vice president has traveled to the West Asia nation.
  
  

• The Trump administration is moving toward installing a statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds, seeking to highlight the Italian explorer's role in American history. White House officials last week signed a loan agreement to secure a reconstructed statue of Columbus that was thrown into the Baltimore Harbor during protests over racial tensions in 2020. "In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero. And he will continue to be honored as such by President Trump," a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
  
  

• The House unanimously approved a bill requiring the Architect of the Capitol to create a congressional time capsule in honor of America's 250th anniversary. The capsule, which will include a joint letter from congressional leadership and other items to be determined, is to remain sealed until July 4, 2276. The bill previously passed the Senate and now heads to President Trump for his signature.

For your radar…

• The leaders of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services testify Tuesday before the House Homeland Security Committee. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 10am ET.

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