Virginia Giuffre's family blasts 'monster' Ghislaine Maxwell in scathing letter

WASHINGTON, DC: The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent survivors, issued a scathing public rebuke of Ghislaine Maxwell on Monday, February 9, after she invoked her Fifth Amendment rights during testimony before Congress.

Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s crimes, appeared remotely from a Texas prison for a deposition before the House Oversight Committee. She refused to answer questions, citing her constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, said that Maxwell would continue to remain silent unless granted clemency by President Donald Trump.

Virginia Giuffre's family claims Ghislaine Maxwell was 'not a bystander'

Journalist Aaron Parnas published the Giuffre family’s letter on X, in which they sharply rejected any suggestion that Maxwell played a peripheral role in Epstein’s network.

“Ghislaine Maxwell, you were not a bystander. You were not ‘misled,’” the family wrote. “You were a central, deliberate actor in a system built to find children, isolate them, groom them, and deliver them to a***e.”

The letter accused Maxwell of weaponizing trust and targeting vulnerable victims for exploitation.

Quoting Giuffre directly, the family added: “Ghislaine was a monster; she was often more vicious and cruel than Epstein. Put it this way: Epstein was Pinocchio and she was Geppetto. She was the guy controlling.”

Family urges Congress to pursue accountability

The Giuffre family said that forgiveness was neither owed nor offered to Maxwell and urged Congress to continue investigating what they described as “extraordinary leniency” granted to her without survivor consultation.

They also pointed to discrepancies between recently released Epstein-related files and Maxwell’s prior sworn testimony.

“Should it be determined that you knowingly provided false statements under oath, we will call upon this Committee and Congress to act decisively and pursue any and all additional charges warranted by the evidence,” the letter said.

The family concluded by sharing what they described as Giuffre’s final wish for Maxwell: that she spend the rest of her life in prison.

Lawmakers criticize Ghislaine Maxwell’s silence

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky) said that Maxwell’s refusal to answer questions was “very disappointing,” noting that lawmakers had sought information about Epstein’s crimes and potential co-conspirators.

Democrats on the committee were more forceful in their condemnation. 

Rep Ro Khanna (D-Calif), who attended the deposition, accused Maxwell of attempting to trade testimony for leniency. “She refused to answer a single question about the men, saying she would only do so for clemency,” Khanna wrote on social media.

Rep Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) similarly accused Maxwell of trying to “buy her clemency” through silence, adding, “We will not allow this silence to stand.”