Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in a closed-door House Oversight Committee deposition this week. Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus, said during the deposition, “If this committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path. Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.”
U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has been working closely with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to get the Department of Justice to release all materials related to the Epstein Files, reported on Monday: “Here is my conclusion after sitting through Maxwell’s deposition with her refusing to answer a single question about the men who raped underage girls, saying she would only do so for clemency. She must immediately be sent back to the maximum security prison where where she belongs.”
Note: Maxwell was transferred from a maximum-security prison in Florida to a minimum-security federal prison in Texas after meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.
Maxwell’s attorney, Markus, replied to Khanna on social media: “A sitting Congressman wants to punish someone for invoking a constitutional right. Sending someone to harsher confinement because they invoke a constitutional right is something we associate with authoritarian regimes, not the United States Congress. Sad.”
A sitting Congressman wants to punish someone for invoking a constitutional right.
— David Oscar Markus (@domarkus) February 9, 2026
Sending someone to harsher confinement because they invoke a constitutional right is something we associate with authoritarian regimes, not the United States Congress. Sad. https://t.co/U30hLTdfLM
MAGA-aligned U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who wants capital punishment for child traffickers, replied to Markus: “Your client is actively obstructing a congressional investigation and only willing to testify (after claiming to be a victim) if she gets immunity. You are getting paid to protect a pedophile and trafficker. Who is really sad here?”
Markus replied to Luna: “Hello Congresswoman @RepLuna. Invoking a Constitutional right is not obstruction. It’s what our great country was built on. Personal attacks on counsel don’t change the Constitution and are beneath the office.”
Hello Congresswoman @RepLuna. Invoking a Constitutional right is not obstruction. It's what our great country was built on. Personal attacks on counsel don’t change the Constitution and are beneath the office. https://t.co/pafFLs1ONK
— David Oscar Markus (@domarkus) February 9, 2026
Luna replied again to Markus: “This is not a personal attack. It’s what you’re doing. You’re getting paid to defend a pedophile and a trafficker. That is the truth. I’m sorry if you don’t like it. What about the constitutional rights of the children? Your client is looking for immunity for crimes in exchange for testimony where she could give us names. You may be able to twist facts in court to sway jurors but those games don’t work with us.”
This is not a personal attack. It’s what you’re doing. You’re getting paid to defend a pedophile and a trafficker. That is the truth. I’m sorry if you don’t like it.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) February 9, 2026
What about the constitutional rights of the children? Your client is looking for immunity for crimes in exchange… https://t.co/CLcSSkL2Mh
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