Share and Follow
House Oversight Chair James Comer subpoenaed Maxwell to testify next month, but in a new letter sent to Comer on Wednesday, Maxwell’s attorneys said they initially decided to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights, but then offered to cooperate with Congress “if a fair and safe path forward can be established”.
Her attorneys noted Maxwell is currently appealing her conviction to the Supreme Court and argued that “any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool”.
“Compounding these concerns are public comments from members of Congress that appear to have prejudged Ms. Maxwell’s credibility without even listening to what she has to say or evaluating the extensive documentation that corroborates it,” the letter states.
An Oversight Committee spokeswoman on Wednesday rejected the idea of giving Maxwell immunity.
“The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,” the spokeswoman said.
“I don’t think there are many Republicans that want to give immunity to someone that may have been sex trafficking children,” Comer told CNN last week.
Maxwell’s conditions as laid out by her attorneys include:
- A grant of formal immunity.
- The interview can’t happen at the correctional facility where she’s serving her sentence.
- “To prepare adequately for any congressional deposition — and to ensure accuracy and fairness — we would require the Committee’s questions in advance… Surprise questioning would be both inappropriate and unproductive.”
- The interview would be scheduled “only after the resolution of her Supreme Court petition and her forthcoming habeas petition”.
Top House Oversight Democrat Representative Robert Garcia told CNN on Wednesday that Maxwell “is not going to set whatever terms that she wants.”
“We do not support giving her the questions ahead of time,” he said.
It’s likely the Supreme Court will not act on Maxwell’s petition until October, when the justices are scheduled to return from a summer break.
Her attorneys said if the demands cannot be met, “Maxwell will have no choice but to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights”.
“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”, it said
“She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.”
