Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused Monday to answer questions from US lawmakers but her attorney said she was prepared to speak if granted clemency by US President Donald Trump.
Maxwell, 64, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with Epstein.
Rather than answer the committee’s questions, however, the former British socialite invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate herself.
A recording of the deposition released by the committee showed Maxwell speaking via video link, her eyes cast down at the table she was seated at in a Texas prison.
She was asked about her and Epstein’s co-conspirators, whether they surrounded themselves with the rich and famous in order to “curry favor” and avoid scrutiny, and whether Trump ever engaged “in sexual activity with an individual introduced to him by you or Jeffrey Epstein.”
Wearing a drab, beige uniform, Maxwell repeated the phrase “I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence” until the committee gave up and called off their questioning early.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, said she would be prepared to speak publicly if granted clemency by Trump.
“If this Committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path,” Markus said in a statement.