Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted co-conspirator of the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is asking to postpone her scheduled congressional deposition — and making a series of other demands as conditions of her cooperation with Hill investigators.
It comes following a recent vote by a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee to subpoena Maxwell amid mounting pressure from House Republicans to release materials related to the larger Epstein investigation. Full committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subsequently sent a letter to Maxwell, who is in prison, compelling her to speak with the committee on Aug. 11.
Maxwell’s attorneys indicated last week she was declining to cooperate with the subpoena. But in a letterobtained Tuesday by POLITICO, the lawyers noted their client now wants to reach a compromise to facilitate her testimony.
Among her asks is to be granted immunity from further criminal proceedings; to receive committee investigators’ questions in advance of the interview; to delay the deposition until after her appeals; and to relocate the deposition outside the prison where Maxwell is held.
Otherwise, the attorneys wrote, Maxwell will invoke her Fifth Amendment right.
“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,” the attorneys wrote.
A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said the panel would soon respond to Maxwell’s request but would not consider granting her Congressional immunity.
Many House Republicans have been pushing Comer and GOP leaders to make the interview with Maxwell as public as possible. According to three Republicans with direct knowledge of the talks, members worry the closed-door setting — and the possibility of granting her some level of immunity — would only increase distrust among their constituents who’ve been pressing for answers relating to Epstein’s activities.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
