Ghislaine Maxwell Demands Immunity, Advance Look at Committee’s Questions in Response to Comer’s Subpoena

Ghislaine Maxwell is making demands of the chairman of the Oversight Committee, Congressman James Comer, ahead of her scheduled deposition on August 11, including a grant of immunity. According to a letter from her attorneys that was obtained by The New York Sun, Ms. Maxwell’s attorneys say she would likely invoke the Fifth Amendment if her requests are not agreed to. Ms. Maxwell, the convicted associate of notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking minors. Her appeal is now before the Supreme Court, which Ms. Maxwell’s lawyers say complicates a potential deposition before Congress. “As you know, Ms. Maxwell is actively pursuing post-conviction relief — both in a pending petition before the United States Supreme Court and in a forthcoming habeas petition,” Ms. Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus, writes to Mr. Comer. “Any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool.”Mr. Comer subpoenaed Ms. Maxwell last week, before the House went on its annual summer recess, under pressure from his Democratic and Republican colleagues. The Trump administration is also in talks with Ms. Maxwell to provide information about Epstein. “Our initial reaction was that Ms. Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and decline to testify at this time,” Mr. Markus writes to Mr. Comer. “However, after further reflection, we would like to find a way to cooperate with Congress if a fair and safe path forward can be established. Several conditions would need to be addressed for that to be possible.”Her attorneys write that Ms. Maxwell would require immunity for any testimony she provides to Congress for fear that such information could be used against her in the appeals process or in any future legal proceedings. “Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity,” Mr. Markus says. He further writes that Mr. Comer will not be permitted to interview her at the Florida prison where she is being held because “the potential for leaks from such a setting creates real security risks and undermines the integrity of the process.”A spokesman for the Oversight Committee confirms to the Sun that it has received the letter and will respond “soon,” though the panel “will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony.”Citing the alleged “torturous” conditions in prison, where Ms. Maxwell has been for the last five years, Mr. Markus demands that she get a list of the Oversight Committee’s questions before she sits down with members and staff. “This is essential not only to allow for meaningful preparation, but also to identify the relevant documentation from millions of pages that could corroborate her responses. Years after the original events and well beyond the criminal trial, this process cannot become a game of cat-and-mouse,” Mr. Markus argues. Their third and final demand is that the deposition be conducted only after her Supreme Court appeal is exhausted and her “forthcoming” habeas corpus petition makes its way through the legal process. The other option, Mr. Markus says, is for President Trump to pardon Ms. Maxwell or commute her sentence, in which case “she would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.”“We remain open to working with the Committee to find a path forward that respects her constitutional rights and enables her to assist the American people and the Committee in its important oversight mission,” Mr. Markus says at the end of his letter.

Ghislaine Maxwell Demands Immunity, Advance Look at Committee’s Questions in Response to Comer’s Subpoena

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