Ghislaine Maxwell Declines to Answer Congressional Questions, Lawyer Confirms
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, will invoke her right to remain silent during questioning by the U.S. House Oversight Committee, her lawyer has stated. Maxwell is set to appear virtually from the Texas prison where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
– Fifth Amendment Rights: I can confirm that she will take the 5th, Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus told the BBC on Sunday. This refers to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects individuals from self-incrimination.
– Prepared Statement: Instead of answering questions, Maxwell plans to read a prepared statement at the outset of the deposition, according to Democratic Representative Ro Khanna.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her involvement in recruiting underage girls for Epstein’s exploitation. Epstein himself mysteriously died in prison in 2019. Following her conviction, Maxwell has sought a pardon from Trump and faces accusations of lying to federal officials.
Congressional Inquiry Focus
In a letter to Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, Khanna outlined his plans to question Maxwell about:
– A court document she filed last year claiming there were four named co-conspirators and 25 others not indicted in the Epstein investigation.
– The social relationship between her, Epstein, and former President Donald Trump, specifically asking whether Trump ever discussed a potential pardon for Maxwell with her defense team.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein, asserting that he severed ties decades ago and has not been accused of crimes by Epstein’s victims.
Khanna expressed that Maxwell’s decision to remain silent appears inconsistent with her past actions, noting that she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment during a prior meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, where similar topics were discussed. In that July meeting, a Department of Justice transcript reveals that Maxwell denied witnessing any inappropriate conduct by Trump or former President Bill Clinton, and stated that a rumored Epstein client list does not exist.
Context of the Deposition
This deposition was initially scheduled for last August but was postponed after Maxwell’s lawyers requested to wait for a Supreme Court ruling related to her case. The timing of the deposition coincides with the U.S. Department of Justice releasing millions of pages of new documents related to its investigation into Epstein, following the passage of a law in Congress last year compelling their disclosure.
Starting Monday, members of Congress will have access to the unredacted versions of nearly three million pages at the Department of Justice, as reported by CBS, the BBC’s U.S. news partner. A group of Epstein survivors released a video on Sunday advocating for increased transparency regarding redactions and unreleased files.
Blanche dismissed any allegations of a cover-up, asserting that the idea of a hidden tranche of information about identifiable individuals that the DOJ is choosing not to prosecute is unfounded.
As this situation develops, the focus remains on Ghislaine Maxwell and her refusal to engage with Congress, raising questions about accountability and transparency in the ongoing Epstein-related investigations.