Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK / AFP / LE MONDE
Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused on Monday, February 9, to answer questions from a US congressional committee, invoking her legal right against self-incrimination, lawmakers said. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with the disgraced financier.
Republican committee chairman James Comer said Maxwell had invoked her right to not incriminate herself, guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. "As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the Fifth and refused to answer any questions," Comer told reporters. "This is obviously very disappointing."
"We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed as well as questions about potential co-conspirators," he said.
Maxwell's lawyers told the House panel that the former British socialite was prepared to testify only if she was first granted clemency by President Donald Trump, Comer said. The lawyers had pushed for Congress to grant her legal immunity in order to testify, but lawmakers refused.
