Washington (EFE).- Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, invoked the Fifth Amendment on Monday before the United States House of Representatives Oversight Committee investigating the case, as her defense had already announced she refused to answer questions.
Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for participating in Epstein’s sex trafficking network, appeared before legislators via videoconference from a Tallahassee, Florida prison.
By refusing to provide more information about how the corrupt network operated, she closed one of the paths that legislators wanted to explore in their congressional investigation.
Maxwell’s lawyer stated that she is willing to testify freely in exchange for a pardon, which can only be granted by US President Donald Trump.
Democrats accused Maxwell of using the offer as part of a campaign to obtain the pardon, which Trump has not publicly opposed.
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican James Comer, told reporters that he does not believe Maxwell should be granted a pardon.
Starting Monday, members of Congress can begin reviewing uncensored versions of all the files of the deceased sex offender in the possession of the Department of Justice.
Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security prison in Texas, where she was interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for two days in July.
The closed deposition with Maxwell occurred on the same day that members of Congress could view unredacted versions of the Epstein files withheld by the Department of Justice from public disclosure.EFE
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