Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted of serving as Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice in a decadelong sex trafficking ring, wants immunity and other conditions in exchange for testifying to Congress about his alleged list of wealthy clients.
Maxwell’s lawyer wrote to lawmakers Tuesday informing them that she won’t testify from prison and won’t answer their questions without a promise of immunity and other provisions.
If her terms aren’t met, Maxwell will clam up, her lawyer said.
“Those are nonstarters,” attorney David Oscar Markus wrote Oversight Chairman James Comer in a letter obtained by The Washington Times.
Mr. Markus said Maxwell won’t talk to lawmakers about Epstein’s alleged wealthy clients if it risks further prosecution “in a politically charged environment.”
The House Oversight panel voted last week to subpoena Maxwell amid pressure from the GOP base and Democrats to expose the men who victimized the girls, some as young as 14, who were trafficked by Epstein.
A House panel also voted to subpoena the Justice Department for all the files related to the government’s investigation and prosecution of Epstein and Maxwell.
Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, is unlikely to agree to an immunity deal.
“The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,” a panel spokesperson said.
Lawmakers planned to conduct the interview with Maxwell over a video link connected to the minimum security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, where she’s serving a 20-year sentence. She was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021, two years after Epstein reportedly committed suicide in his jail cell as he awaited prosecution on similar charges.
Mr. Markus said Maxwell cannot provide “truthful and complete testimony” from prison, citing the potential for leaks that create security risks for her.
Maxwell wants the questions that lawmakers plan to ask in advance of her testimony to allow her to prepare and find the relevant documents to corroborate her statements.
“Years after the original events and well beyond the criminal trial, this process cannot become a game of cat and mouse. Surprise questioning would be both inappropriate and unproductive,” Mr. Markus wrote to Mr. Comer.
Maxwell wants her conviction thrown out and has petitioned the Supreme Court to review her case. Her lawyers argued she should have been shielded from prosecution under a 2008 deal in which Epstein agreed to plead guilty to two charges of soliciting prostitution. The agreement granted Epstein and his “coconspirators” immunity from federal charges.
Mr. Markus asked lawmakers to schedule her congressional testimony after the high court rules on her petition.
The conditions outlined in her lawyer’s letter appear to put Maxwell’s congressional testimony in jeopardy.
Mr. Markus said if the conditions aren’t met, Maxwell will remain silent and invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell for two days last week and provided limited immunity in exchange for her information.
Mr. Blanche hasn’t revealed what Maxwell told him.
Maxwell’s brother, businessman Ian Maxwell, told Spectator TV this month that there is no client list.
“My sister has always maintained there never was such a thing — it never existed,” Mr. Maxwell said.
President Trump hasn’t weighed in on Maxwell, telling reporters he hasn’t even considered whether to pardon her or commute her sentence.
If the president grants clemency, Maxwell would tell all, Mr. Markus said.
“She would be willing — and eager — to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning,” he said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.