Latest news with #Comer
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maxwell offers to testify before Congress but with major conditions, including immunity
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress, but with major conditions, including immunity, according to a list of her demands sent to the House Oversight Committee by her attorneys. House Oversight Chair James Comer subpoenaed Maxwell to testify next month. In a new letter sent to Comer Tuesday, 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 Tuesday 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.' 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.' Notably, the letter ended with a final appeal 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, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning,' her attorneys said. CNN's Annie Grayer and Manu Raju contributed to this story. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Fox News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Ghislaine Maxwell's immunity request denied by House Oversight Committee
The House Oversight Committee, led by GOP Chairman James Comer, said it "will not consider" a request from Ghislaine Maxwell's attorneys asking for immunity in exchange for her testimony to Congress. The former accomplice and girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein was hit with a subpoena last week to testify before Congress – from prison – amid a probe from lawmakers seeking to uncover more information about the disgraced financier's sex crimes. The subpoenaed deposition was scheduled for August 11. On Tuesday, Maxwell's attorneys sent a letter to Chairman Comer indicating she would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and stay silent in front of Congress, unless the immunity request was agreed upon. In Maxwell's immunity request, her attorney's offer clemency as a possible solution as well, indicating Maxwell "would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress" if it were granted to her. "The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital after receiving the letter. In their letter to Comer, Maxwell's attorneys said their client's testimony could pose both legal and security risks for their client. Maxwell's legal team also requested questions their client would be asked in advance of her testimony in front of Congress, but the Oversight spokesperson did not directly speak to that request. Another request from Maxwell's attorneys was that the deposition date be delayed until after the Supreme Court rules on Maxwell's latest bid for an appeal. On Monday, Maxwell's attorneys asked the High Court to hear their client's appeal in her 2021 sex trafficking conviction, arguing the federal government "has an obligation to honor" a 2007 non-prosecution agreement that they believe should shield her from criminal charges. "Ms. Maxwell should never have been charged in the first place. In 2008, the United States government promised, in writing, that she would not be prosecuted," Maxwell's attorneys wrote in their correspondence to Comer, adding she did not receive a fair trial when convicted in the Southern District of New York for sex trafficking in 2021. "[The government] broke that promise only after Mr. Epstein died in 2019—at which point Ms. Maxwell became a convenient scapegoat." According to the attorneys, during Maxwell's case in the Southern District of New York prosecutors "wrongfully convinced the trial judge to unfairly limit Ms. Maxwell from presenting her defense, and at least one juror lied about a material fact during voir dire in order to serve on the jury." Fox News Digital reached out to Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maxwell offers to testify before Congress but with major conditions, including immunity
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress, but with major conditions, including immunity, according to a list of her demands sent to the House Oversight Committee by her attorneys. House Oversight Chair James Comer subpoenaed Maxwell to testify next month. In a new letter sent to Comer Tuesday, 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 Tuesday 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.' 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.' Notably, the letter ended with a final appeal 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, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning,' her attorneys said. CNN's Annie Grayer and Manu Raju contributed to this story. This is a developing story and will be updated.
7 days ago
- Politics
Justice Department faces subpoena over Epstein files by House Oversight Committee
A House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The motion passed by a vote of 8-2. Notably, three GOP lawmakers -- Reps. Nancy Mace, Scott Perry and Brian Jack -- joined with Democrats on the subcommittee to approve the subpoena, defying Republican leadership. The House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer must sign the subpoena before it can be officially issued, per committee rules. Comer plans to sign off on the subpoena, a Republican committee source told ABC News. The top Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Summer Lee, initially offered the motion. Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York on July 2, Minchillo/AP, FILE Republicans on the committee pushed back and amended the subpoena to also include communications by Biden administration officials and the DOJ. These officials include Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales. Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia said in a statement that the subcommittee's vote on Wednesday "was just the first step toward accountability, and we will continue pushing for the truth." "Today, Oversight Democrats fought for transparency and accountability on the Epstein files and won. House Republicans didn't make it easy, but the motion was finally passed to force the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files," Garcia said. The news comes the same day House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, for a deposition to occur at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11. "The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein's cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny," Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. "What we're talking about here is someone who's in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms, if she wants," Comer said before the subpoena was issued. "If there are no terms, we'll roll in there quick." The situation will be similar to Comer's effort to interview Jason Galanis, a former business partner of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, during the GOP's impeachment inquiry of then-President Joe Biden. "I did that with [Jason] Galanis, and the Democrats were real offended that we would want to interview anyone in prison. But now you know they're, they're all they want to interview someone in prison," Comer said. The committee has shown a propensity to record video of the interviews and release content afterwards -- as it did with several former Biden officials who invoked their 5th Amendment rights earlier this summer -- so it's possible there could be handout video from the deposition. Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Maxwell sometime in the "coming days." President Donald Trump last week said on his social media platform that he had ordered the Justice Department to "release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval." Comer has also signaled that the circumstances of a closed-door deposition at a federal prison could attract both Democrats and Republicans to attend the interview. "There will be so many members of Congress that'll want to be in that prison," Comer said. "I would assume that there'll be a lot of members of the Oversight Committee on both -- in both parties that'll want to be there." Ghislaine Maxwell attends VIP Evening of Conversation for Women's Brain Health Initiative, Moderated by Tina Brown at Spring Studios on October 18, 2016 in New York Gaboury/Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images A congressional subpoena is a formal legal order issued by a congressional committee or individual compelling their testimony. David Oscar Markus, appellate counsel for Maxwell, said in a statement to ABC News that Maxwell "looks forward" to meeting with Blanche and that meeting will inform how she proceeds with the subpoena. "As for the congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds," he said. Markus also responded to comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier Wednesday questioning Maxwell's credibility as a witness. "If they see fit to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony, that's fine. I will note the obvious concern, the caveat that Chairman Comer and I and everyone has that could she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness?" Johnson said to reporters. "We understand Speaker Johnson's general concern -- Congress should always vet the credibility of its witnesses. But in this case, those concerns are unfounded. If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th -- and that remains a big if -- she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche. The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed," Markus said in a statement.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Oversight Committee issues subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, for a deposition to occur at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11. 'The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein's cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,' Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. MORE: GOP Sen. Thom Tillis says Epstein files could impact midterm prospects 'What we're talking about here is someone who's in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms, if she wants,' Comer said before the subpoena was issued. 'If there are no terms, we'll roll in there quick.' The situation will be similar to Comer's effort to interview Jason Galanis, a former business partner of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, during the GOP's impeachment inquiry of then-President Joe Biden. 'I did that with [Jason] Galanis, and the Democrats were real offended that we would want to interview anyone in prison. But now you know they're, they're all they want to interview someone in prison,' Comer said. The committee has shown a propensity to record video of the interviews and release content afterwards -- as it did with several former Biden officials who invoked their 5th Amendment rights earlier this summer -- so it's possible there could be handout video from the deposition. Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Maxwell sometime in the "coming days." President Donald Trump last week said on his social media platform that he had ordered the Justice Department to "release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval." Comer has also signaled that the circumstances of a closed-door deposition at a federal prison could attract both Democrats and Republicans to attend the interview. 'There will be so many members of Congress that'll want to be in that prison,' Comer said. 'I would assume that there'll be a lot of members of the Oversight Committee on both -- in both parties that'll want to be there.' A Congressional subpoena is a formal legal order issued by a congressional committee or individual compelling their testimony.
