Ghislaine Maxwell will plead the Fifth in Epstein House testimony - unless these demands are met: defence lawyer
Defense lawyer David Oscar Markus told the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that his client's statements under oath 'could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool.'
'Accordingly, our initial reaction was that Ms. Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and decline to testify at this time,' Markus wrote to Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).
'However, after further reflection, we would like to find a way to cooperate with Congress if a fair and safe path forward can be established.'
The demands listed in the letter include two items that Markus deemed non-negotiable: a grant of immunity for Maxwell and testifying outside the Florida federal prison where she's been serving a 20-year sentence since 2022 for conspiring with Epstein to abuse young girls.
Before that, the 63-year-old had spent nearly two years in a Brooklyn detention facility, which her attorney called 'one of the worst' prisons in the US.
The committee should also provide copies of its questions in advance, Markus said, 'to identify the relevant documentation from millions of pages that could corroborate her responses.'
And Oversight lawmakers were asked to meet with Maxwell only 'after the resolution of her Supreme Court petition and her forthcoming habeas petition.'
'Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency,' Markus hinted, 'she would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.'
'The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,' a committee spokeswoman said in a statement to the Post.
Maxwell is currently appealing her 2021 conviction and sentencing, as the Trump administration seeks to fend off criticisms from both the left and the right on its handling of a 'systematic review' into Epstein's crimes, his influential 'clientele' and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.
Epstein, 66, was found dead in his Manhattan lockup on Aug. 10, 2019, after having been charged with abusing dozens of minors — some as young as 14 years old.
Multiple investigations — including by the DOJ's Office of Inspector General and independent medical examiners — have ruled Epstein's demise a suicide, while laying out what former Attorney General Bill Barr referred to as a 'perfect storm of screwups' allowing it to happen.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche peppered Maxwell with questions for two days last week during which she was reportedly granted limited immunity.
The UK-born convict could have been charged with lying for any false statements she made, Markus revealed to reporters after the sitdown at the Talahassee, Fla., US attorney's office, apparently pointing to the limits of that immunity.
Maxwell was given a shield from future prosecution based on her interview responses, a concession known as proffer immunity, sources told ABC News last week.
The Department of Justice expressed skepticism about Maxwell's truthfulness during her prosecution, writing in court filings in 2022 that she displayed a 'significant pattern of dishonest conduct' and didn't take responsibility for her sickening crimes.
Markus maintains that Epstein's attorneys were told that 'no potential co-conspirators would be prosecuted' based on his statements to prosecutors following his July 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell still discussed '100 different people' linked to Epstein and was 'asked about every possible thing you could imagine — everything,' her attorney added.
'This was the first opportunity she's ever been given to answer questions about what happened,' he said. 'The truth will come out about what happened with Mr. Epstein and she's the person who's answering those questions.'
'No one is above the law — and no lead is off-limits,' Blanche had posted on X July 22, when he announced plans to interview Maxwell.
Originally published as Ghislaine Maxwell will plead the Fifth in Epstein House testimony - unless these demands are met: defence lawyer
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