Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to answer questions at congressional deposition, lawmakers say
WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions during testimony before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday, drawing criticism from both Republican and Democratic members of the committee, according to lawmakers.
Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein sexually abuse young girls and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions, lawmakers said after the testimony.
“This is obviously very disappointing. We had a lot of questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed and potential co-conspirators,” Republican Rep. James Comer, the committee chairman, told reporters.
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Democrats on the committee accused Maxwell of using the testimony to campaign for a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump and called on the Republican president to rule out such a move.
“We have not received any substantive answers to the questions asked that would further our investigation,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Virginia Democrat.
“We have another chapter in his long-running campaign to seek clemency from President Trump. And President Trump can end it today; he can ignore the pardon for the monster Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, said he advised her to invoke the Fifth Amendment because she had a pending habeas petition “showing that her conviction was based on a fundamentally unfair trial.”
“If this Committee and the American public really want to hear the unfiltered truth about what is going on, there is a simple way to do that. Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if tolerated by President Trump,” Markus said in a statement to the Committee aired Monday on X. he said.
The testimony came after the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of internal documents related to Epstein.
The documents released include photos of Trump with several women with redacted faces and a suggestive note to Epstein framed by a sketch of a naked woman that appears to bear Trump’s signature.
Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he cut ties in the early 2000s, before Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in the state of Florida in 2008. He says the obscene note is fake.
Comer said five more depositions are planned in the Epstein investigation, including one with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on February 26 and former US President Bill Clinton on February 27.
In his post on X, Markus stated that Trump and “Bill Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing,” adding that Maxwell could explain why.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Matthew Lewis)
