Maxwell refuses to answer questions about Epstein during congressional hearing
Caitlin WilsonAnd
Cai Pigliucci,at the Capitol
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, refused Monday to answer questions from the U.S. House Oversight Committee.
Maxwell appeared virtually for a closed-door deposition from Texas prison where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said that “as expected,” Maxwell pleaded the Fifth Amendment, invoking his right to remain silent.
“It’s obviously very disappointing,” he said. “We had many questions to ask about the crimes committed by her and Epstein, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators.”
“We sincerely want to uncover the truth for the American people and bring justice to the survivors, that is the purpose of this investigation,” Comer added.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the right to avoid self-incrimination by refusing to answer questions under oath.
Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury told reporters after the hearing that Maxwell used the opportunity to “campaign for clemency.”
Comer said it was clear from speaking to Epstein survivors “that Maxwell was a very bad person” who did not deserve any type of immunity.
In an earlier social media post, Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said Maxwell was “ready to speak fully and honestly if President Trump grants him clemency.”
“Only she can provide the full story. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters,” he posted.
In a letter sent to the House Oversight Committee before Maxwell’s appearance, a group of Epstein survivors urged lawmakers to be skeptical of any information Maxwell provided.
They criticized him for refusing to identify “the many powerful men” involved in Epstein’s trafficking operation and his refusal to “cooperate meaningfully” with law enforcement, saying any “special treatment” or “credibility given to his testimony” would be catastrophic for survivors.
The White House has previously said “no clemency was granted or discussed” for Maxwell.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in luring underage girls for Epstein, her former boyfriend, to exploit. Epstein died in prison in 2019. She is seeking clemency from Trump and has been accused of lying to federal officials.
In a letter to Comer before the deposition, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said he planned to question Maxwell about a court document she filed last year saying there were “four named co-conspirators” and 25 others who have not been charged in the Epstein investigation.
He also planned to ask questions about her and the late financier’s “social relationship” with Donald Trump, and whether the US president had ever discussed a possible pardon for Maxwell with his defense team.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing against Epstein, with whom he says he cut off contact decades ago, and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein’s victims.
Khanna said Maxwell’s decision not to answer the Oversight Committee’s questions “appears inconsistent with Ms. Maxwell’s prior conduct, as she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment when she previously met with Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss a substantially similar topic.”
According to a Justice Department transcript of that July meeting, Maxwell told Blanche — who previously worked as Trump’s personal lawyer — that she had not witnessed any inappropriate conduct by Donald Trump or former U.S. President Bill Clinton and that there was no such thing as Epstein’s rumored “client list.”
Monday’s deposition was originally scheduled for last August, but was postponed by Comer after a request from Maxwell’s lawyers to wait for a Supreme Court ruling on his case.
The testimony comes as the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of new files from its investigation into the disgraced financier after a law compelling their release was passed by Congress last year.
Members of Congress will be allowed to view in person the unredacted versions of nearly three million pages at the Justice Department starting Monday, CBS, the BBC’s U.S. news partner, reported.
“I think it’s great that the Justice Department is letting members of Congress come in and look at all the unredacted versions of the documents,” Comer told reporters at the Capitol on Monday.
A group of Epstein survivors released a video on Sunday calling for more transparency regarding the redactions and certain previously unpublished files.
Blanche has rejected any accusations of a cover-up, previously saying that the notion of a “hidden slice of information about men that we know about” and the Justice Department choosing not to prosecute is not the case.
With reporting by Pratiksha Ghildial in New York.