Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions during a US congressional deposition on Monday, repeatedly invoking her constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Maxwell appeared virtually in a closed-door session before the House Oversight Committee from a Texas prison, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking offences linked to Epstein.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Maxwell, as anticipated, pleaded the Fifth Amendment throughout the hearing. He described the outcome as disappointing, saying lawmakers had intended to question her about crimes committed by Epstein and herself, as well as the possible involvement of other individuals.
Comer said the committee’s objective was to uncover the truth for the American public and secure justice for survivors of abuse.
The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution allows individuals to refuse to answer questions under oath if the responses could incriminate them.
Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury told reporters after the hearing that Maxwell appeared to use the deposition as an opportunity to seek clemency. Comer said conversations with Epstein survivors had made it clear to him that Maxwell did not deserve immunity of any kind.
Earlier, Maxwell’s lawyer David Oscar Markus said in a social media post that his client was prepared to speak fully if she were granted clemency by President Donald Trump. He claimed Maxwell could provide a complete account of events, even if some found the truth uncomfortable.
Ahead of the deposition, a group of Epstein survivors urged lawmakers to treat any information from Maxwell with caution. In a letter to the committee, they criticised her for failing to name influential figures allegedly involved in Epstein’s trafficking network and for what they described as a lack of meaningful cooperation with investigators. They warned that offering her special treatment or credibility would be deeply harmful to survivors.
The White House has previously said that no leniency for Maxwell is being considered.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for recruiting underage girls for Epstein, her former partner, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. She is seeking a presidential pardon and has faced allegations of lying to federal officials.
In a separate letter to Chairman Comer, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna said he had planned to question Maxwell about a court filing in which she claimed there were four named co-conspirators and at least 25 others who were not charged in the Epstein investigation. He also intended to ask about Epstein and Maxwell’s social ties with President Trump and whether any discussion of a potential pardon had taken place.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said he cut ties with him years ago. He has not been accused of crimes by Epstein’s victims.
Khanna later said Maxwell’s refusal to testify appeared inconsistent with her earlier conduct, noting that she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment during a previous meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. According to a justice department transcript, Maxwell told officials she had not witnessed inappropriate conduct by Trump or former president Bill Clinton and said there was no Epstein “client list”.
The deposition had originally been scheduled for August last year but was delayed at the request of Maxwell’s lawyers pending a Supreme Court ruling.
The hearing comes as the US Department of Justice has begun releasing millions of pages of documents related to the Epstein investigation under a law passed by Congress. Lawmakers are set to review unredacted versions of nearly three million pages at the justice department.
Epstein survivors have continued to call for full transparency, while justice department officials have denied claims of a cover-up, rejecting suggestions that evidence has been deliberately withheld.
With inputs from BBC