Imprisoned sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell will plead the Fifth for the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into her longtime partner, deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for a 2021 sex trafficking conviction, plans to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights rather than provide testimony for the House panel’s Epstein investigation, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) told Politico on Friday.
“Her lawyers have replied that she’s not going to answer any questions,” Comer said. “She’s only going to plead the Fifth. I mean, I could spend a bunch of taxpayer dollars to send staff and members down there, and if she’s going to plead the Fifth, I don’t know that that’s a good investment.”
A spokesperson for the Oversight Committee confirmed to NR Maxwell’s decision to plead the Fifth if she testifies.
Comer subpoenaed Maxwell in July to have her testify before the committee. Maxwell’s lawyers asked Comer to delay the testimony until after the Supreme Court heard her petition to have her sex-trafficking conviction tossed. She also demanded full immunity and an advance copy of the House Oversight Committee’s questions. Comer rejected her demands in August but expressed openness to continuing the negotiations.
In October, the Supreme Court rejected Maxwell’s attempt to have her conviction reversed. Her long-shot attempt was based on the language of the infamous non-prosecution agreement Epstein had with federal prosecutors in 2008.
Maxwell interviewed with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July and offered praise for Trump but did not reveal any incriminating information. The Trump administration proceeded to transfer her to a lower-security facility. Thus far, Trump has ruled out a pardon for Maxwell.
Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1990s until the mid-2000s. Their friendship has received fresh scrutiny because of the Trump administration’s decision earlier this year not to release the federal government’s files on Epstein. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein.
Trump signed bipartisan legislation earlier this week requiring his administration to release all of the Epstein files. The measure passed easily after Trump gave House Republicans permission to vote for it. House Democrats and a handful of Republicans backed the effort before Trump’s belated endorsement.
Trump has repeatedly called the Epstein files a “hoax” and dismissed their significance. But he has also instructed the Justice Department to investigate prominent Democrats linked to Epstein.
The House Oversight Committee’s investigation began during the period of renewed interest in Epstein’s sexual abuse. The panel has released tens of thousands of pages of documents during its investigation, including emails and records from Epstein’s estate. Those emails have shined additional light on Epstein’s relationships with powerful figures in media, politics, and business. The Oversight Committee’s investigation remains ongoing.
Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex-trafficking charges in Manhattan. His death was officially ruled a suicide, a determination the Trump administration backed in its assessment of the Epstein files.