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Maxwell invokes 5th amendment in House deposition
Lawmakers tried Monday to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, but the former girlfriend and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein invoked her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions that would be incriminating. Committee members from both sides of the aisle addressed the media after the hearing.
WASHINGTON - Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, declined to answer questions from House lawmakers in a deposition Monday, but indicated that if President Donald Trump ended her prison sentence, she would be willing to testify that neither he nor former President Bill Clinton had done anything wrong in their connections with Epstein.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. She’s come under new scrutiny as lawmakers try to investigate how Epstein was able to sexually abuse underage girls for years.
Ghislaine Maxwell appeals for clemency
What they're saying:
During the closed-door deposition Monday, Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, said in a statement to the committee that "Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump."
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. (Credit: Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
He added that both Trump and Clinton "are innocent of any wrongdoing," but that "Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation."
Trump has not previously ruled out granting Maxwell clemency.
The other side:
But pushback by both Democrats and Republicans quickly rose after Maxwell made the appeal.
"It’s very clear she’s campaigning for clemency," said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat.
RELATED: Ghislaine Maxwell declines to answer questions from House committee
"NO CLEMENCY. You comply or face punishment," Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, wrote on social media. "You deserve JUSTICE for what you did you monster."
Clemency vs. pardon
Dig deeper:
According to law firm Ruane DUI & Criminal Defense Attorneys, clemency is a general term used for the act of reducing the penalties of a crime.
Therefore, pardons are actually considered a form of clemency. If a person receives a pardon, they are always receiving clemency, but if they receive clemency, they are not always receiving a pardon.
Forms of clemency include commutation of a sentence, a pardon, or a reprieve.
So, if someone receives clemency, they might get a reprieve, which will temporarily postpone their sentence, or a commutation of sentence, in which case, their original felony sentence will be reduced. This will get a person out of prison sooner, according to the law firm.
The most common form of clemency is a pardon, which will essentially delete the person’s criminal record if it is granted.
Maxwell seeks to have conviction overturned
The backstory:
Maxwell has been seeking to have her conviction overturned, arguing that she was wrongfully convicted.
The Supreme Court rejected her appeal last year, but in December she requested that a federal judge in New York consider what her attorneys describe as "substantial new evidence" that her trial was spoiled by constitutional violations.
Maxwell was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a low-security prison camp in Texas last summer after she participated in two-days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
More recently, the House Oversight Committee had wanted Maxwell to answer questions during a video call to the federal prison camp in Texas, but she invoked her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions that would be self-incriminating.
So far, the revelations have shown how both Trump and Clinton spent time with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but they have not been credibly accused of wrongdoing.
The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.