The disgraced socialite and convicted sex trafficker invoked her Fifth Amendment right in response to every question asked during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
Representative James Comer of Kentucky, said a lawyer for Maxwell, who appeared virtually from a prison in Texas, told lawmakers in his opening statement that Maxwell ‘would answer questions if she were granted clemency.’
Comer, who has spoken with Epstein survivors, told reporters ‘that Maxwell was a very bad person, and she committed a lot of crimes’.
He said does not think Maxwell should be granted any type of immunity or clemency.
The granting of mercy can be granted to a convicted criminal by a senator or the president, reducing or eliminating their sentence in exceptional circumstances.
In an earlier social media post, her lawyer David Oscar Markus said Maxwell was ‘prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.’
‘Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters,’ he posted.
Democrat Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, hit out at President Trump for not shutting down the idea that she could get a pardon.
‘She is campaigning over and over again to get that pardon from President Trump, and this president has not ruled it out,’ he said.
‘And so that is why she is continuing to not cooperate with our investigation.’
Democrat Melanie Stansbury, who sits on the committee, added: ‘This was an effort to essentially try to secure her pardon by keeping her mouth shut, and we will not allow this silence to stand.’
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, says Maxwell ‘answered no questions and provided no information about the men who raped and trafficked women and girls’.