Ghislaine Maxwell did indeed appear via video before a House committee on Monday, and lawmakers got the answers they expected: Zilch. The longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein took the Fifth on every question, reports the Wall Street Journal. "She answered no questions and provided no information," said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, after the closed-door session. "Who is she protecting?" Maxwell attorney David Markus said his client would be happy to answer all their questions—if she is granted clemency.
"Only she can provide the complete account," Markus said. "Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters." However, GOP Rep. James Comer, the committee chair, said Maxwell should not receive any type of clemency or immunity. "She committed a lot of crimes," said Comer. A Democrat on the panel, Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, faulted not only Maxwell, but President Trump for not outright rejecting clemency. "She is campaigning over and over again to get that pardon from President Trump, and this president has not ruled it out," he said, per the New York Times. "And so that is why she is continuing to not cooperate with our investigation."
Maxwell, meanwhile, has filed a long-shot habeas petition seeking her freedom. The Journal notes that she claimed in a recent court filing that Epstein had four other co-conspirators and 25 men who settled with victims of Epstein, though their identities have not been made public. Maxwell did answer questions posed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over two days last summer, notes the Guardian, after which she was transferred to a lower-security prison in Texas.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
