Ghislaine Maxwell Pleads the Fifth but Says She’d ‘Speak Fully and Honestly’ if Trump Grants Her Clemency
Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions from the House Oversight Committee on Monday, but her attorney said she is “prepared to speak fully and honestly” if President Donald Trump grants her clemency.
“Only she can provide the complete account” of Epstein’s actions, David Oscar Markus said in a statement after Maxwell’s brief virtual appearance before the panel in the morning, where she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation,” Markus said, sharing what he said he told the panel.
Markus said he told committee members his client “would very much like to answer your questions,” but she “must remain silent because Ms. Maxwell has a habeas petition currently pending that demonstrates that her conviction rests on a fundamentally unfair trial.”
That would change if she’s granted clemency, the statement said. Trump has not publicly ruled out pardoning Maxwell. “I haven’t thought about it for months. Maybe I haven’t thought about it at all,” he told reporters on Air Force One in November. “I don’t talk about that. I don’t rule it in or out,” he said then. (Read more from “Ghislaine Maxwell Pleads the Fifth but Says She’d ‘Speak Fully and Honestly’ if Trump Grants Her Clemency” HERE)
