Convicted Epstein associate refuses to answer questions, signals testimony only with presidential pardon.

Ghislaine Maxwell, former partner and associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, declined to answer questions before the United States House of Representatives, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, lawmakers said Monday.

RELATED: US Releases Millions of Epstein Files with Revelations About Powerful Figures

Lawmakers from the House Oversight Committee reported that Maxwell, convicted in 2021 of aiding Epstein in the sexual abuse of minors, used the constitutional protection to avoid responding during a closed-door session examining her links to Epstein and potential accomplices.

Committee chair James Comer, a Republican, described the refusal as “this is obviously very disappointing.” He added, “We had many questions to ask her about the crimes that she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about possible accomplices.”

Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Texas for sex trafficking, made clear through her attorneys that she would testify only if granted clemency by former President Donald Trump.

Video from the session shows Maxwell seated at a conference table, wearing a brown prison-issued shirt, with a bottle of water before her, repeatedly stating she was invoking “my right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment.”

Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told the committee, “Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if President Trump grants her a pardon.” He also stated that Trump and former President Bill Clinton “are innocent of any wrongdoing,” and added, “only Ms. Maxwell can explain why, and the public has the right to that explanation.”

The hearing followed the release of millions of internal documents by the U.S. Department of Justice, which indicate that both Clinton and Trump had contact with Epstein during the 1990s and early 2000s, though no charges have been filed against them.

Congressional officials expect Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, to testify later this month.

Maxwell’s refusal to testify leaves congressional investigators without direct testimony from a central figure in the Epstein case, while scrutiny of the released documents and the potential for accountability continues.

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