Ghislaine Maxwell's refusal to answer questions before Congress draws criticism: Who is she protecting?'

"After months of defying our subpoena, Ghislaine Maxwell finally appeared before the oversight committee and said nothing, said Garcia, a California Democrat. She answered no questions and provided no information about the men who raped and trafficked women and girls. Who is she protecting? And we need to know why she's been given special treatment at a low security prison by the Trump administration. We are going to end this White House cover-up."

"On my advice, Ghislaine Maxwell will respectfully invoke her fifth amendment right to silence and decline to answer questions today even though she would very much like to answer your questions, Markus her attorney, told the committee, according to a statement he posted on X, formerly Twitter. She must remain silent because Ms Maxwell has a habeas petition currently pending that demonstrates that her conviction rests on a fundamentally unfair trial."

Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions during a closed-door congressional deposition. She provided no testimony or information about men accused of raping and trafficking women and girls. Robert Garcia criticized her silence and demanded explanations for alleged special treatment at a low-security prison under the Trump administration. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for luring teenage girls into Jeffrey Epstein's abusive orbit. Her attorney David Oscar Markus said she must remain silent because a habeas petition claims her conviction rests on a fundamentally unfair trial and that she would speak if granted clemency by President Trump.

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