Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer is demanding immunity and other protections before she’ll testify to Congress — otherwise, he says, she’ll plead the Fifth.
Attorney David Oscar Markus laid out conditions for Maxwell’s appearance under subpoena, including immunity from prosecution. Without such guarantees, he wrote, “Maxwell will have no choice but to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights.” (RELATED: Rep. Massie Calls For Ghislaine Maxwell To Testify ‘If She Has Information That Could Help Us’)
“The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,” a committee spokeswoman told the Caller.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 20: Kristy Caylor, Esperanza Spalding and Ghislaine Maxwell attend day 1 of the 4th Annual WIE Symposium at Center 548 on September 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)
Markus sought to leverage Maxwell’s cooperation in exchange for her immunity in a letter obtained by the Caller. He also requested that she receive the committee’s questions in advance and that any testimony be postponed until after the Supreme Court rules on her pending appeals.
Markus argued that recent “public reports” and Chairman James Comer’s public remarks suggest the committee intends to question Maxwell in prison and without immunity — a setup he called a “non-starter.”
“Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity,” Markus wrote. “Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony.”
He added that potential leaks could endanger Maxwell’s safety and compromise the integrity of the process. (RELATED: House Oversight Committee Votes To Subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell For Deposition)
Markus also pressed the committee to hand over its questions in advance, calling it necessary for “preparation.”
“To prepare adequately for any congressional deposition — and to ensure accuracy and fairness — we would require the Committee’s questions in advance,” he wrote. “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.”
The letter closed with a direct appeal to President Donald Trump, urging him to grant Maxwell clemency.
“Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing — and eager — to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.,” the attorney wrote.
The letter also argued that Maxwell “did not receive a fair trial” and was “wrongfully convicted,” insisting she should have never been charged at all. (RELATED: Markwayne Mullin Calls For Immediate Release Of All Epstein Court Records)
Her attorneys claimed federal prosecutors violated a 2008 non-prosecution agreement involving Jeffrey Epstein by pursuing a case against her despite the earlier deal struck in the Southern District of Florida.
