- Maxwell invokes the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.
- Her lawyer says she will be ready to speak in public if pardoned.
- Members of Congress were given access to unredacted Esptein files.
WASHINGTON: Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions from US lawmakers on Monday, but her lawyer said she was prepared to speak if US President Donald Trump granted clemency.
Maxwell, 64, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relationship with Epstein.
Instead of answering the committee’s questions, the former British socialite invoked her right not to incriminate herself.
A recording of the deposition released by the committee showed Maxwell speaking via video link, her eyes cast down at the table she sat at in a Texas prison.
She was asked about her and Epstein’s co-conspirators, whether they surrounded themselves with the rich and famous to “carry favors” and avoid scrutiny, and whether Trump ever engaged in “sexual activity with anyone who was introduced to him by you or Jeffrey Epstein.”
Wearing a drab, beige uniform, Maxwell repeated the phrase “I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent” until the committee gave up and ended their hearing early.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, said she would be prepared to speak publicly if Trump were granted clemency.
“If this committee and the American public really want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path,” Markus said in a statement.
Markus also said that Trump and former President Bill Clinton – both of whom were once friendly with Epstein – are “innocent of any wrongdoing”.
“Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled 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 leaders, politicians, celebrities and academics.
Her deposition comes amid the recent release by the Justice Department of millions of documents related to the government’s investigation into Epstein, many of which have been heavily redacted.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) passed by Congress in November forced the Justice Department to release all the records it held related to Epstein.
It required redaction of the names or personal identifying information of Epstein’s victims, who numbered more than 1,000, according to the FBI.
But EFTA said no records could be “withheld, delayed or redacted on the grounds of embarrassment, harm to reputation or political sensitivity, including to any official, public figure or foreign dignitary.”
Congressional access to unredacted files
Members of Congress were given access to unredacted versions of the files Monday, but only during strict, in-person visits to secure Justice Department viewing locations.
“I saw the names of lots of people that were redacted for mysterious or confusing or inscrutable reasons,” Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, told reporters, including “people who were enablers and collaborators.”
The Ministry of Justice has said that no new prosecutions are expected.
Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican, said he discovered the names of six men whose identities have been redacted from the publicly released documents and who are “likely to be incriminated by their inclusion in these files.”
Massie declined to reveal 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.”
Later, on CNNMassie said prominent businessman Les Wexner was listed as a “co-conspirator” in a 2019 child-trafficking case, in a case that had been improperly redacted. Wexner is the billionaire behind women’s retailers and the lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret.
The House Oversight Committee has also subpoenaed Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to testify about their interactions with Epstein.
The Clinton family has called for their depositions to be held in public to prevent Republicans from politicizing their testimony.
Trump was once a close friend of Epstein but has not been subpoenaed to testify by the Republican-controlled committee.
