Convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions before Congress, while her lawyer said she could clear President Donald Trump of wrongdoing if granted clemency.
Maxwell appeared via video link from a federal prison camp in Texas, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking offences connected to Epstein’s exploitation of underage girls. Lawmakers sought to question her as part of a broader effort to determine how Epstein was able to abuse victims for years and whether institutional failures allowed his activities to continue.
Committee members said Maxwell had signalled in advance that she would not provide substantive testimony. During the session she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, declining to respond to questions that could be used against her in future legal proceedings. The deposition ended shortly after it began.
Ahead of the hearing, Maxwell’s attorney indicated she would be willing to “speak fully and honestly” if granted clemency, suggesting she could offer information clearing Trump’s name. Several lawmakers rejected the prospect of leniency, saying her refusal to cooperate left investigators without new evidence.
The deposition coincided with the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to allow members of Congress to review large volumes of previously restricted material related to the Epstein investigation. Lawmakers have been granted access to millions of documents under strict conditions, including limits on copying or sharing the files.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein and was sentenced the following year to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said she played a central role in facilitating contact between Epstein and his victims across multiple properties.
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, intensifying scrutiny of his network of associates and the handling of earlier investigations.
Despite Maxwell’s refusal to provide detailed testimony, congressional investigators said their review of documents and past evidence will continue as part of efforts to establish how authorities responded to allegations over several decades. Maxwell has previously maintained her innocence while pursuing appeals of her conviction.
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Nine suspects have been formally arrested over last week’s gun attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul, judicial officials have said. The assault left one attacker dead and two Turkish police officers lightly wounded.
Hungary’s political landscape is entering a new phase after voters brought an end to the long rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, with analysts pointing to economic discontent and governing fatigue rather than a decisive ideological break.
The reopening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran reflects the “special relationship” between the two countries, a regional expert has said.
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan on Saturday in an effort to end their six-week war, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Haiti’s Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Israel has reprimanded Spain’s most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
Nine suspects were arrested on Saturday (11 April) in connection with a terror attack targeting a police post in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.
Hungary’s political landscape is entering a new phase after voters brought an end to the long rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, with analysts pointing to economic discontent and governing fatigue rather than a decisive ideological break.
Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day as the country’s worsening hunger crisis pushes communities closer to famine, humanitarian organisations have warned.
U.S. President Donald Trump forcefully criticised Pope Leo XIV late on Sunday in an unusually direct attack on the leader of the global Catholic Church, triggering a backlash from religious leaders and believers worldwide.
Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orbán has lost power to the centre-right Tisza party in Sunday’s national election after 16 years in office, marking a major political shift that has drawn reactions across Europe and the United States.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed on Monday to upgrade bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, placing defence cooperation at its core.
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