- Maxwell invokes his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.
- Her lawyer says she will be willing to speak publicly if he is granted clemency.
- Members of Congress had access to unredacted Esptein files.
WASHINGTON: Ghislaine Maxwell, an accomplice of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, refused on Monday to answer questions from US lawmakers, but her lawyer said she was prepared to speak if US President Donald Trump granted her clemency.
Maxwell, 64, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relationships with Epstein.
However, instead of answering the committee’s questions, the former British socialite invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.
A recording of the deposition released by the committee showed Maxwell speaking via video link, her eyes cast down on the table she was sitting at in a Texas prison.
She was asked about her and Epstein’s accomplices, whether they surrounded themselves with the rich and famous to “curry favor” and avoid scrutiny, and whether Trump ever engaged “in sexual activity with an individual introduced to him by you or Jeffrey Epstein.”
Wearing a drab beige uniform, Maxwell repeated the phrase “I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence” until the committee gave up and ended the questioning early.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, said she would be willing to speak publicly if Trump granted her clemency.
“If this Committee and the American public really want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a simple path,” Markus said in a statement.
Markus also said that Trump and former President Bill Clinton, who were once friends of Epstein, are “innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“Only Maxwell can explain why, and the public has a right to that explanation,” he said.
Maxwell is the only person convicted of a crime related to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
She was convicted in 2021 of supplying underage girls to Epstein, who had ties to powerful business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics.
His statement comes amid the Justice Department’s recent release of millions of documents related to the government’s investigation into Epstein, many of which have been heavily redacted.
The Epstein Records Transparency Act (EFTA) passed by Congress in November forced the Justice Department to release all records in its possession related to Epstein.
It required the redaction of the names or personal identifying information of Epstein’s victims, who numbered more than 1,000 according to the FBI.
But the EFTA said no records could be “withheld, delayed or redacted for reasons of embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity, including for any government official, public figure or foreign dignitary.”
Congressional access to unredacted files
Members of Congress were given access to unredacted versions of the files on Monday, though only under strict in-person visits at secure Justice Department viewing locations.
“I saw the names of many people who were redacted for mysterious, baffling or inscrutable reasons,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin told reporters, including “people who were facilitators and cooperators.”
The Justice Department has said no new indictments are expected.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican, said he discovered the names of six men whose identities have been redacted from the released documents and who “are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files.”
Massie declined to provide their identities, but said one “is pretty high up in a foreign government.”
He also posted on X a sordid 2009 email exchange between Epstein and a redacted sender discussing a “torture video.”
Then cnnMassie said prominent businessman Les Wexner was listed as a “co-conspirator” in a 2019 child sex trafficking case, in a file that had been incorrectly redacted. Wexner is the billionaire behind women’s retailers and lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret.
The House Oversight Committee also subpoenaed Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to testify about their interactions with Epstein.
The Clintons have asked that their statements be made public to prevent Republicans from politicizing their testimony.
Trump was once a close friend of Epstein, but the Republican-controlled committee has not called him to testify.
