Ghislaine Maxwell Dodges Questions, Pleads 5th in House deposition

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, declined to answer questions from House lawmakers in a deposition Monday, but indicated that if President Donald Trump ended her prison sentence, she was willing to testify that neither he nor former President Bill Clinton had done anything wrong in their relationships with Epstein.

via: ABC News

Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, invoked the Fifth Amendment during the closed-door virtual deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, according to video released by Chairman James Comer.

"I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence," Maxwell, speaking from prison, repeatedly stated more than a dozen times during Monday's closed-door virtual deposition, refusing to answer any questions on the panel's investigation into Epstein, the late sex offender.

"This is obviously very disappointing," Comer told reporters after the brief deposition. "We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators. We sincerely want to get to the truth to the American people and justice for the survivors. That's what this investigation is about."

Comer and Oversight Republicans on Monday evening posted video of Maxwell's deposition with the chairman saying, "I'm releasing the full video and audio so the American people can see it for themselves."

The video of the deposition shows Maxwell declining to answer if she was a close friend of Epstein.

"I would like to answer your question, but on the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer this question and any related questions. My habeas petition is pending in the Southern District of New York. I therefore invoke my right to silence under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," Maxwell responded.

Maxwell refused to say if she was involved in trafficking of young women or girls and if she ever coerced any young women or girls to provide sexual favors to Epstein.

She refused to provide the committee names of any additional co-conspirators, or to answer if she was aware that Epstein was sexually abusing minors and adult women, and whether she ever participated in sexual abuse of any minor or adult woman.

Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, said during the deposition, "If this committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path. Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump."

"For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing," the lawyer said. "Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to hear that explanation."

It was expected that Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison in Texas, would refuse to answer questions from lawmakers and committee staffers as part of the panel's investigation into the late financier and his ties to some of the world's most powerful figures in politics, business and entertainment. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.

Maxwell has a petition pending in federal court in New York that seeks to overturn her conviction or reduce her sentence.

Asked whether he suspects that Maxwell, who is now in a minimum-security prison in Texas, succumbed to political pressure by refusing to testify, Comer said he had "no idea."

"Unfortunately, she had an opportunity today to answer questions that every American has, questions that would be very important in this investigation, and she chose to invoke her Fifth Amendment," Comer said.

Despite Maxwell refusing to cooperate, Comer emphasized his committee's investigation will continue with five confirmed depositions "on the books" in the coming weeks, including Leslie Wexner, the retail billionaire who was once Epstein's largest financial client, on Feb. 18.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has agreed to sit for a deposition on Feb. 26 while former President Bill Clinton has agreed to a Feb. 27 deposition. Comer said that the committee will also interview Epstein's accountant and lawyer next month.

After Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell over two days in a proffer session in July, Maxwell told Blanche that she never witnessed nor heard of any criminal or inappropriate activity by Trump, Clinton, nor any of the well-known men who associated with Epstein. Maxwell was moved to a federal minimum security prison in Texas, the Bureau of Prisons confirmed on Aug. 1.

Biggs said Monday that the lawyer continued to press for clemency in exchange for Maxwell's testimony -- a pitch her legal team has floated since last July.

Last month, Maxwell's attorney again asked Comer to delay any compelled testimony from Maxwell until her habeas proceedings have been resolved, but suggested there was one scenario that might change Maxwell's stance -- clemency from the president.

"Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing -- and eager -- to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.," Markus wrote to the committee on Jan. 21. "She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning."

Democrats complained that Maxwell used the virtual deposition to renew her bid for clemency -- after Trump, in July, did not rule out pardoning Maxwell.

"Ghislaine Maxwell should have no hope of ever getting out of prison," Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam told reporters on Monday. "But today, she, through her lawyer, explicitly stated that she wants to be out of prison through a clemency that this president would grant."

Subramanyam claimed the hope of clemency is "why she's continuing to not cooperate with our investigation."

Comer also discouraged the president from granting Maxwell any form of clemency.

"Initially she had asked that the Oversight Committee grant immunity, and when we met with the survivors of Epstein it was pretty clear, according to the survivors -- and we had 20-some members in that meeting -- that Maxwell was a very bad person, and she committed a lot of crimes, and it was the intent, in my opinion, when we left that meeting in a bipartisan manner that we would not grant immunity," Comer explained. "Now, what she said today, she's asked for clemency from the president. So I personally, for the reasons you just stated, don't think she should be granted any type of immunity or clemency."

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said Maxwell has shown no remorse and "is not seeking to bring about some kind of closure for these women."

"I got news for you, Ms. Maxwell: we're not done. We're going to continue to go," Crockett said.