Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress, but only with immunity and conditions met
As per to a letter seen by CNN, her lawyers wrote to the House Oversight Committee saying she would cooperate 'if a fair and safe path forward can be established.' House Oversight Chair James Comer had earlier issued a subpoena for Maxwell to testify next month.
Her lawyers said they had first planned to use her Fifth Amendment rights which protect against self-incrimination but later suggested she might speak to Congress under certain terms. One reason, they said, is that Maxwell is currently appealing her criminal conviction to the US Supreme Court.
'Any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool,' her lawyers wrote, as reported by CNN.
They also said some lawmakers had already made public remarks about Maxwell that 'appear to have prejudged her credibility without even listening to what she has to say or evaluating the extensive documentation that corroborates it.'
Maxwell's lawyers listed four main conditions for her testimony:
If these conditions are not met, they said, Maxwell would invoke her right to remain silent.
A spokesperson for the Oversight Committee told CNN that Maxwell's request for immunity would not be considered. 'The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,' the statement said.
Chair James Comer also told CNN last week, 'I don't think there are many Republicans that want to give immunity to someone that may have been sex trafficking children.'
Maxwell's legal team ended their letter by appealing to President Donald Trump for clemency. '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, DC,' the letter 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.'
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