Ghislaine Maxwell, the girlfriend who helped Jeffrey Epstein operate a global sex trafficking operation, invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from House lawmakers in a deposition on Monday.
Maxwell appeared before a House committee via video from a Texas prison, accompanied by her lawyer, David Oscar Markus.
She did offer to testify in exchange for clemency from President Trump.
“Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” Mr. Markus wrote on X. “Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation.”
Maxwell had previously stated she would not answer questions from lawmakers because she is appealing her conviction on sex trafficking charges, for which she is serving a 20-year sentence.
The Fifth Amendment allows a person to refuse to provide self-incriminating testimony.
“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 right,” said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican.
Mr. Comer said he denied Maxwell’s request that she be granted immunity from the committee, and he said he does not believe Mr. Trump should grant her clemency.
“Maxwell was a very bad person, and she committed a lot of crimes,” Mr. Comer said.
Maxwell is among a half-dozen witnesses the panel plans to interview in the coming weeks, among them Bill and Hillary Clinton, who last week agreed to testify behind closed doors about their relationship to Epstein.
The Clintons, who were friends with Epstein and Maxwell in the 2000s, were facing a House vote that likely would have found them in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas ordering them to testify.
They agreed to answer questions from the panel in a closed-door deposition scheduled for later this month.
Mr. Comer said the committee plans to interview Epstein’s former business associate, billionaire Les Wexner, as well as Epstein’s accountant and his lawyer.
“So we will continue to move forward and try to get answers for the American people,” Mr. Comer said.
Maxwell is the only person who has been prosecuted for involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking. Democrats, Epstein’s victims and others are calling on the Trump administration to release millions of files, in addition to those already made public, related to the federal investigation to expose the wealthy and influential men in Epstein’s orbit who also abused the girls.
The Clintons are among dozens of wealthy and influential people who associated with Epstein, and several of them travelled on his private jet. President Trump also palled around with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s.
No one other than Epstein and Maxwell has been accused of wrongdoing or any connection with the sex trafficking scheme. Maxwell has previously made statements exonerating Mr. Clinton and Mr. Trump.
Maxwell served as a key liaison between Epstein and his victims, many of them underage girls, and she played a significant role in recruiting new girls. She is also accused of sexually assaulting some of the female victims.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy, and sex trafficking of a minor.
Her conviction came two years after Epstein committed suicide in a New York City jail cell following his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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