Chilling footage shows Ghislaine Maxwell plead the Fifth as lawmakers grill her over Epstein
Chilling footage shows Ghislaine Maxwell defending Fifth and refusing to answer questions about Jeffrey Epstein at a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill.
The jailed British socialite appeared before lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee for less than an hour on Monday.
Epstein’s longtime girlfriend was testified as part of a bipartisan congressional investigation into the Justice Department’s investigation and handling of the Epstein case.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Texas after being convicted in 2021 of selling teenage girls to Epstein. Maxwell is his only partner who has been imprisoned.
In the footage, the 64-year-old man was seen in front of a table, wearing beige prison uniform and round glasses.
After Maxwell was asked her first question about her relationship with Epstein, she set out what all her answers would be: ‘I would like to answer your question, but on the advice of my attorney, I respectfully decline to answer this and related questions.’
My habeas petition is pending in the Southern District of New York. ‘Therefore, I am exercising my right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.’
When confirming whether he was refusing to answer the question, he replied robotically, without any emotion, that he was actually exercising his Fifth Amendment right.
Maxwell refused to tell the House Oversight Committee on Monday about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Documents show Epstein had access to numerous powerful political figures, including former president Bill Clinton
Like a broken record, he repeated his Fifth Amendment rights with every question asked.
Maxwell refused to answer several questions, including: ‘Ms Maxwell, did you play any role in Jeffrey Epstein’s activities regarding the recruitment, grooming or trafficking of young women or girls?’
‘Miss Maxwell, have you ever forced, directed or otherwise instructed any young woman or girl to provide sexual favors to Mr. Epstein or any other person?’
‘Miss Maxwell, have you and Jeffery Epstein tried to surround yourself with influential people to curry favor and protect yourselves from possible scrutiny?’
‘Miss Maxwell, can you please provide us with the names of you and any other accomplices who participated in the crimes committed by Jeffery Epstein?’
Republican Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said before the hearing that they expected Maxwell to defend the Fifth.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says he expects Maxwell to defend the Fifth Amendment
His lawyer reportedly told the committee he would not answer questions unless he received a pardon from President Donald Trump. Maxwell came under renewed scrutiny following the release of more than three million documents related to the Epstein case.
The documents show that the pedophilia financier had access to a vast network of powerful business leaders and political figures.
Maxwell was first subpoenaed by the Oversight Committee last year, but her lawyers told lawmakers she would not answer questions about Epstein.
Comer noted that the full video of Maxwell’s statement will be released.
Trump did not indicate whether he would grant pardon or clemency to Epstein’s imprisoned wife.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment.
Comer plans to schedule additional depositions with former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
The Clintons initially refused to comply with the subpoena, but after Comer threatened them with contempt of Congress charges, the couple agreed to testify before the committee.
Comer’s team had spent months negotiating with Maxwell’s attorney to get her to appear in court.
Comer postponed the deposition he had planned to hold in August after his lawyer asked him to wait for the Supreme Court decision on Maxwell’s appeal.
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Does pleading with the fifth weaken the search for truth?
Epstein was known to rub shoulders with some of the richest and most powerful people in the world, including Bill Gates
The Supreme Court refused to hear Maxwell’s case in October.
Maxwell’s decision to plead the Fifth case comes months after she spoke candidly to the Deputy Attorney General about her relationship with Epstein.
Last year, he was transferred to a minimum security prison in Texas after speaking with Todd Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal attorney.
Trump was a long-time friend of Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s but expelled him from his Mar-a-Lago club for being a ‘creep’.
The president has never been accused of any wrongdoing.
