Ghislaine Maxwell Sends Congress List Of Demands For Deposition

Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is threatening to refuse cooperation with Congress if she is not granted immunity or given other concessions for a deposition.

The demands were outlined in a letter sent on Tuesday to House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) after he issued a subpoena last week to Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.

David Oscar Markus, Maxwell’s attorney, wrote that their “initial reaction” to the subpoena, which seeks a deposition with at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on August 11, was that his client would “invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and decline to testify at this time.” But, he added, “further reflection” led them to offer “conditions” that would make it possible for Maxwell to cooperate.

The committee questioning Maxwell in prison and without a grant of immunity are “non-starters,” Markus warned. He said Maxwell “cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment” and warned the potential for leaks from prison would create “real security risks and undermines the integrity of the process.” Markus also wrote that Maxwell would require questions in advance and requested the deposition be scheduled after the Supreme Court decides on his client’s petition seeking to overturn her conviction.

“Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing — and eager — to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.,” Markus wrote. “She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.”

So far, it does not appear Comer is willing to accept the full extent of Maxwell’s demands, which follow meetings with the Department of Justice.

“The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,” a spokesperson for the panel told reporters.

A House Oversight panel also voted last week to subpoena files regarding Epstein and testimony from former President Bill Clinton, his wife and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several ex-law enforcement leaders. Comer later said his committee was preparing to comply with the decision.