Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, invoked her Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee.
“After months of defying our subpoena, Ghislaine Maxwell finally appeared before the Oversight Committee and said nothing,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia. “She answered no questions and provided no information about the men who raped and trafficked women and girls.”
The Oversight Committee is investigating Epstein and Maxwell, an inquiry separate from the recent release of so-called Epstein files by the Department of Justice.
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Maxwell’s attorney said it was in her best interest to plead the Fifth Amendment due to ongoing legal proceedings.
"She must remain silent because Ms. Maxwell has a habeas petition currently pending that demonstrates that her conviction rests on a fundamentally unfair trial," attorney David Oscar Markus stated.
Markus added that Maxwell would be willing to speak if she is granted clemency by President Donald Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence following her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking-related charges.
"Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters," he said. "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."
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Committee Chairman James Comer said the investigation will continue without Maxwell’s testimony. He said five individuals with prior links to Epstein are expected to testify in the coming weeks, including Lex Wexner, a former Epstein client; Richard Kahn, a financial adviser to Epstein; and Darren Indyke, Epstein’s attorney, as well as former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Clintons have maintained they were unaware of Epstein’s crimes. They have offered to testify publicly, but Comer has declined that request. Instead, they are scheduled to sit for a deposition in late February.
