Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions during a closed-door deposition before the US House Oversight Committee on Monday, repeatedly invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Maxwell appeared virtually from a Texas federal prison, where she is serving a 20-year sentence following her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking offences related to Epstein. Republican Oversight Committee chairman James Comer said Maxwell declined to respond to all substantive questions, as lawmakers had anticipated.
“This is obviously very disappointing,” Comer said after the hearing. He added that the committee had intended to question Maxwell about crimes committed by her and Epstein, as well as the identities of potential co-conspirators. “We sincerely want to get to the truth for the American people, and justice for the survivors,” Comer said.
The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution allows individuals to refuse to answer questions under oath if their responses could be self-incriminating. Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury said Maxwell used the deposition to “campaign for clemency” rather than cooperate with lawmakers.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said earlier on social media that his client was willing to “speak fully and honestly” if granted clemency by President Donald Trump. “Only she can provide the complete account,” Markus wrote, adding that the truth might be uncomfortable but necessary.
Epstein survivors urged lawmakers to approach Maxwell’s testimony with caution. In a letter sent to the Oversight Committee ahead of the deposition, they criticised Maxwell for previously refusing to identify “powerful men” involved in Epstein’s trafficking operation and warned that granting her credibility or special treatment would be “catastrophic for survivors.”
The White House has previously said no leniency was being discussed in relation to Maxwell. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna said he had planned to question Maxwell about a court filing in which she claimed there were four named co-conspirators and at least 25 other unindicted individuals connected to Epstein. He also intended to ask about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s social ties to Donald Trump and whether a potential pardon had ever been discussed.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said he cut ties with the financier decades ago. According to a Justice Department transcript from a July meeting, Maxwell previously told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that she did not witness inappropriate conduct by Trump or former President Bill Clinton and said a rumoured Epstein “client list” did not exist.
The deposition was originally scheduled for August last year but was delayed at the request of Maxwell’s lawyers pending a Supreme Court ruling related to her case.
The hearing coincided with the Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of documents from its Epstein investigation, following legislation passed by Congress last year. Lawmakers were granted access to unredacted versions of the nearly three million pages beginning Monday, according to CBS News.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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