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Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during the video deposition
Ariana Baio Monday 09 February 2026 14:26 GMT- Bookmark
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CloseHouse Oversight chairman reacts after Ghislaine Maxwell pleads Fifth in depositionLeer en Español
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Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, who is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking, invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during a House Oversight Committee deposition Monday morning.
David Oscar Markus, a lawyer for Maxwell, said he advised his client to remain silent given her ongoing appeal to her 2021 conviction but said is “prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.”
Maxwell remained silent when faced with questions about her knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities but told lawmakers that both President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton were innocent of wrongdoing.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, who subpoenaed Maxwell, said he was “disappointed” in her deposition. Comer told The Independent the committee considered giving her immunity but ultimately decided against it after speaking with survivors.
“This was something new today, obviously that's not for me to decide, that's for the president to decide,” Comer said.
open image in galleryMaxwell’s lawyer said she would not answer questions from the House Oversight Committee unless she was granted clemency (AP)While the president has acknowledged his ability to pardon Maxwell, he has not expressed an interest in doing so.
Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back on Maxwell saying that she would testify if President Trump granted her clemency.
“Look, I think she has an obligation to tell the truth,” he told The Independent Monday evening. “I just think it's unconscionable that she's she's pleading the Fifth or trying to make deals. She needs to tell the truth. It's long overdue, and I think it would be good for her to do that. She's already sentenced to prison.”
Markus had previously told Comer that his client would invoke her Fifth Amendment if she were subpoenaed, citing concerns that her testimony could impact her current habeas corpus bid.
“If this Committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path. Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” Markus said in a statement Monday.
“Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation.”
Already, Justice Department officials have interviewed Maxwell about other individuals who may have committed crimes against victims of Epstein. After sitting for an interview that stretched across two days, Maxwell was suddenly moved from a high-security prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison in Texas.
At the time, Markus said Maxwell answered “every single question… honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability.”
However, when it came to her House deposition, Maxwell was far less compliant.
open image in galleryMaxwell was a close confidant of Epstein’s and acted as his manager in email exchanges (US Department of Justice)The Independent has asked David Markus’s office for comment.
Ahead of Monday’s deposition, Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of the House Oversight Committee, asked Comer to clarify which questions Maxwell plans to invoke her Fifth Amendment right to.
Khanna asked if Maxwell would answer questions about her “four named co-conspirators” and 25 men who entered into secret settlements; whether Epstein provided President Donald Trump access to underage girls when they were friends; or foreign governments with which Epstein had relationships. Trump has not been charged with any offenses in connection with Epstein and has denied any wrongdoing.
But Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said they received no “substantive answers to questions that were asked that would advance” the committee’s investigation.
"She, through her lawyer, explicitly stated that she wants to be out of prison through a clemency that this president would grant," Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said.
Maxwell’s deposition arrives just after the Justice Department released three million pages of documents in the government’s Epstein file. Many of the documents are emails between Epstein, Maxwell and third parties.
Last year, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act to increase public transparency on the Epstein files. The legislation required the Justice Department to release redacted versions of all documents related to the Epstein investigation, after months of delays.
The Independent’s Eric Garcia contributed to this report.
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