WASHINGTON, D.C. — Convicted Jeffrey Epstein associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, appeared virtually from prison today for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee.
It’s the latest deposition in the bipartisan investigation into Epstein and the federal government’s handling of his case.
The deposition ended under an hour after it started when Maxwell declined to answer questions, invoking the Fifth Amendment- which is often used to avoid self-incrimination.
“This is obviously very disappointing. We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. “We sincerely want to get to the truth to the American people and justice for the survivors. That’s what this investigation is about.”
Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Texas. Comer said Maxwell’s attorneys pressed for clemency during the virtual deposition.
“Her attorney said that she would answer questions if she were granted clemency by President Trump,” Comer said.
Comer had previously agreed to delay a deposition planned for August after Maxwell’s attorney asked to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court decided whether it would hear her appeal. The high court declined to take the case in October.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, police say they are reviewing a new allegations claiming former Prince Andrew shared confidential information with Epstein while serving as a U.K. trade envoy. The former prince was stripped of his remaining royal titles last October amid renewed scrutiny regarding his ties to Epstein.
Some members of the House Oversight Committee say Andrew — the brother of King Charles — should appear before the committee to answer questions.
“The king has to answer what he knew — what he knew about Andrew. Just stripping Andrew of a title is not enough. I mean, Andrew needs to come before our committee and start answering questions,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. “I mean, look, if you have allegations of raping a young girl, I don’t think the appropriate punishment is you no longer get to be a prince, there’s got to be more than that.”
Prince Andrew has not publicly commented on the latest claim. He has previously denied wrongdoing related to Epstein.
