Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a federal prison sentence on sex-trafficking charges, refused on Monday to answer questions during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee.
Representative James R. Comer of Kentucky, the committee’s Republican chairman, said that Ms. Maxwell, who appeared virtually from a prison in Texas, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to every question asked.
“It was very disappointing,” Mr. Comer said. “We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators.”
He also said that Ms. Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told lawmakers in his opening statement that Ms. Maxwell “would answer questions if she were granted clemency” by President Trump.
Democrats in the deposition condemned that stance.
“She is campaigning over and over again to get that pardon from President Trump, and this president has not ruled it out,” said Representative Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia. “And so that is why she is continuing to not cooperate with our investigation.”
In a copy of his statement posted on social media, Mr. Markus said that “Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.”
He also said that Ms. Maxwell could clear both Mr. Trump and former President Bill Clinton, both of whom have documented ties to Mr. Epstein, from any accusations of wrongdoing.
Lawmakers had sought to depose Ms. Maxwell for months as part of the panel’s inquiry into the federal government’s investigations of Mr. Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in prison while facing accusations of sex trafficking of girls as young as 14, and Ms. Maxwell.
Mr. Comer first requested to depose Ms. Maxwell in July, as a political firestorm was erupting over the Trump administration’s backtracking on a promise to release all of the Justice Department’s investigative material on Mr. Epstein.
As the backlash grew, House Democrats teamed with a handful of Republicans to force the Oversight Committee to subpoena the department and the Epstein estate for troves of records. The panel also requested depositions for current and former government officials and Ms. Maxwell.
In the months since that initial request, Ms. Maxwell has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly after she was moved to a minimum-security prison following an interview by Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general. Democrats have demanded to visit her there, citing whistle-blower accusations that she is receiving preferential treatment.
Monday’s deposition took place as the Justice Department also began to make the unredacted versions of its investigative material into Mr. Epstein available to members of Congress. The department finished the release of the files last month.
Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky and one of the authors of the law that required the release of the material, said he planned to begin looking at the unredacted versions on Monday. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, also plans to view the files on Monday, according to the committee’s staff.
The Oversight Committee has continued its investigation, which also included a review of thousands of pages obtained from Mr. Epstein’s estate. The panel will hear testimony from the executors of the estate this month.
The committee will also depose Hillary Clinton and Mr. Clinton. After a bitter back-and-forth with Mr. Comer, the Clintons agreed to be deposed on camera this month, though they have continued to request that they be allowed to do so at public hearings.
A review by The New York Times of documents released by the Justice Department found very little related to Mrs. Clinton and limited new information about Mr. Clinton’s interactions with Mr. Epstein.
But the documents revealed that Ms. Maxwell played a substantial role in supporting the creation of the Clinton Global Initiative, one of Mr. Clinton’s signature post-White House efforts.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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