Topline
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell will stay silent and invoke her Fifth Amendment rights during her deposition with the House Oversight Committee next month, according to a Wednesday letter to the committee in which her attorneys argued her testimony would amount to “political theater.”
Maxwell’s deposition is scheduled for Feb. 9.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Key Facts
Comer announced Wednesday the oversight committee will depose Maxwell on Feb. 9. through a virtual testimony.
In a letter sent to House Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Maxwell’s attorneys said their client, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, will invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to answer questions.
The attorneys said the decision for Maxwell to plead the Fifth is not a “negotiating position or tactical choice,” but a “legal necessity” as she is currently trying to overturn her convictions.
The attorneys said Maxwell’s deposition would be “political theater” and would not advance the committee’s mission unless she was granted clemency—in that case, “she would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly.”
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Tangent
The Oversight Committee has a contempt vote slated Wednesday against former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who have both refused to publicly testify on Epstein. Comer rejected an offer from the Clintons to speak with the former president in a private meeting that would have had no official transcript recorded. Comer called the proposal an “untenable offer.”
Key Background
Maxwell was sentenced to prison in 2022 on five counts including sex trafficking of minors. She has denied wrongdoing and appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn her convictions. That appeal was denied in October, leading her to file a new motion with a federal court to vacate her convictions, arguing juror misconduct and prosecutorial misconduct from the government denied her right to a fair trial. The Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell in July, but Maxwell’s team wanted the deposition delayed until her Supreme Court appeal was heard. The delay was granted.
Further Reading
Clintons Headed To Contempt Vote In Epstein Probe As Oversight Chair Refuses Private Interview Request (Forbes)