Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions during a closed-door congressional deposition on Monday, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The move drew sharp criticism from Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, who questioned who she might be protecting.
Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network, appeared before the committee after months of defying a subpoena. Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, stated that she would remain silent due to a pending habeas petition challenging her conviction as fundamentally unfair.
Markus offered a conditional path for Maxwell to speak, stating she would provide a full account if granted clemency by President Donald Trump. He claimed that both Trump and former President Bill Clinton were innocent of any wrongdoing, and that Maxwell alone could explain why. The White House declined to comment on the pardon issue.
Representative Ro Khanna, a co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, noted an inconsistency: Maxwell had previously answered questions in a two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July, without invoking her Fifth Amendment rights. Khanna had planned to ask about four named co-conspirators and 25 men mentioned in Maxwell's Supreme Court petition.
The Department of Justice has denied the existence of a list of Epstein's associates, but the committee continues to seek transparency. Garcia accused the Trump administration of a cover-up, citing Maxwell's placement in a low-security prison.
