2026年2月9日 / 美国东部时间下午12:26 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
华盛顿—— convicted sex offender（经定罪的性犯罪者）杰弗里·爱泼斯坦（Jeffrey Epstein）的长期同伙吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦（Ghislaine Maxwell）在周一的众议院监督和政府改革委员会虚拟听证会上援引了第五修正案反对自证其罪的权利，拒绝回答问题。
她的律师表示，如果特朗普总统给予她特赦，她愿意配合该小组的调查，并将作证称总统“没有任何不当行为”。
“正如预期的那样，吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦援引第五修正案，拒绝回答任何问题。这显然非常令人失望，”主席詹姆斯·科默（James Comer）在证词陈述后告诉记者。“我们有许多关于她和爱泼斯坦所犯罪行的问题，以及关于潜在同谋者的问题。我们真诚地希望为美国人民查明真相，并为受害者伸张正义。”
科默表示，作为对爱泼斯坦调查的一部分，委员会还安排了五次更多的证词陈述。科默称，其中将作证的包括爱泼斯坦核心圈子的三名成员：莱斯·韦克斯纳（Les Wexner），他曾是爱泼斯坦的客户和长期资助者；理查德·卡恩（Richard Kahn），他的会计师；以及达伦·因迪克（Darren Indyke），他的律师。
麦克斯韦的律师大卫·马库斯（David Markus）向监督小组宣读了一份声明。他说，他的当事人因纽约联邦法院正在等待处理的法律申请而必须保持沉默。但他表示，如果麦克斯韦获得特赦，委员会可以听取她的证词。
“如果本委员会和美国公众真的想要听到关于所发生事情的未经过滤的真相，有一条简单的途径。如果特朗普总统给予特赦，麦克斯韦女士准备充分、诚实地发言，”马库斯说。“只有她能提供完整的叙述。有些人可能不喜欢听到的内容，但真相很重要。例如，特朗普总统和克林顿总统都没有任何不当行为。麦克斯韦女士独自可以解释为什么，公众有权得到这个解释。”
监督委员会的最高民主党人、众议员罗伯特·加西亚（Robert Garcia）暗示，麦克斯韦拒绝回答问题是为了保护他人，并表示她受到了特朗普政府的“特殊待遇”。去年夏天，在与副司法部长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）会面后，麦克斯韦从佛罗里达州的一所低安全级别的教养机构被转移到德克萨斯州的一个最低安全级别的监狱营地。
“经过数月的违抗传票，吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦终于出现在监督委员会面前，但一无所言。她没有回答任何问题，也没有提供关于那些强奸和贩卖妇女及女童的男子的任何信息，”加西亚在一份声明中说。
来自亚利桑那州的共和党众议员安迪·比格斯（Andy Biggs）在证词陈述后告诉记者，麦克斯韦的律师称，她没有迹象表明特朗普先生或前总统比尔·克林顿（Bill Clinton）对任何不当行为负有责任。
但来自弗吉尼亚州的民主党众议员苏哈斯·苏布拉马尼亚姆（Suhas Subramanyam）表示，麦克斯韦提出公开作证以赦免特朗普和克林顿，是为了争取两党对特赦的支持。
“这一切都是她试图从特朗普总统那里获得赦免的策略，而且在整个案件中，她从未对受害者表现出任何悔意，”他告诉记者，并补充说麦克斯韦在国会议员面前的表现“毫无悔意”且“机械刻板”。
麦克斯韦于2021年因参与与爱泼斯坦合谋性剥削和虐待未成年女孩的计划，被判定犯有联邦性交易罪。她目前正在服20年徒刑。
监督委员会于2025年7月传票传唤麦克斯韦作证。此后不久，马库斯在一封信中告诉科默，如果委员会给予她豁免权或她获得特朗普的特赦，她愿意回答委员会的问题。马库斯表示，在没有这些保证的情况下，麦克斯韦将不得不援引第五修正案权利。
麦克斯韦没有回答问题的情况与她去年7月与布兰奇的会面形成对比。根据司法部发布的一份抄本，那次会面持续了两天，麦克斯韦回答了关于她与爱泼斯坦以及他圈子里其他人关系的问题。在与布兰奇会面后不久，她被转移到德克萨斯州布莱恩的监狱营地，转移原因未被说明。
检察官将麦克斯韦置于爱泼斯坦性交易团伙的中心，并表示大约十年来，她帮助他招募、培养和虐待未满18岁的受害者。在最近几个月根据《爱泼斯坦档案透明度法》（Epstein Files Transparency Act）发布的记录中，麦克斯韦大量出现。该法律由国会通过，并于11月由特朗普签署，要求司法部公开其与爱泼斯坦和麦克斯韦调查相关的所有材料。
作为对爱泼斯坦案件的自身调查的一部分，监督委员会已要求司法部和爱泼斯坦遗产提供文件。它还向一批前司法部长和联邦调查局局长，以及克林顿和前国务卿希拉里·克林顿（Hillary Clinton）发出了传票。
虽然克林顿夫妇最初拒绝了作证要求，称传票“无效且在法律上无法执行”，但在面临国会藐视投票后，他们同意本月晚些时候出席证词陈述。
斯科特·麦克法兰（Scott MacFarlane）为本报道提供了帮助。
Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth, with lawyer saying she’ll testify in Epstein probe if Trump grants her clemency
February 9, 2026 / 12:26 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions during a virtual appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday.
Her lawyer said she would be willing to cooperate with the panel’s probe if President Trump grants her clemency, and would testify that the president is “innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the Fifth and refused to answer any questions. This obviously is very disappointing,” chairman James Comer told reporters after the deposition. “We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions bout potential co-conspirators. We sincerely want to get to the truth for the American people and justice for survivors.”
Comer said the committee has five more depositions scheduled as part of its investigation into Epstein. Among those set to testify are three members of Epstein’s inner circle: Les Wexner, who was one of his clients and a longtime benefactor; Richard Kahn, his accountant; and Darren Indyke, his lawyer, Comer said.
David Markus, Maxwell’s attorney, read a statement to the Oversight panel. He said his client had to remain silent because of a pending legal petition filed with the federal court in New York. But he said the committee could hear from Maxwell if she received clemency.
“If this committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path. Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” Markus said. “Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, suggested Maxwell was trying to protect others by refusing to answer questions and said she was given “special treatment” by the Trump administration. Maxwell was transferred from a low-security correctional institute in Florida to a minimum security prison camp in Texas after meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last summer.
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“After months of defying our subpoena, Ghislaine Maxwell finally appeared before the Oversight Committee and said nothing. She answered no questions and provided no information about the men who raped and trafficked women and girls,” Garcia said in a statement.
Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, told reporters following the deposition that Maxwell’s lawyer said she has no indication that either Mr. Trump or former President Bill Clinton are culpable for any wrongdoing.
But Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat from Virginia, said Maxwell’s offer to speak on the record to absolve Mr. Trump and Clinton are part of an effort to drum up support from both parties for clemency.
“This is all strategy for her to try to get a pardon from President Trump, and she’s never shown any remorse for the victims in this entire case,” he told reporters, adding that Maxwell was “unrepentant” and “robotic” in her appearance before lawmakers.
Maxwell was convicted of federal sex-trafficking charges in 2021 for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls with Epstein. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell for testimony in July 2025. Soon after, Markus told Comer in a letter that she would be willing to answer questions from the committee if they granted her immunity or if she received clemency from Mr. Trump. Without those assurances, Markus said Maxwell would have to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights.
The lack of answers from Maxwell stands in contrast to the interview that she participated in with Blanche last July. The interview spanned two days, and Maxwell answered questions about her relationship with Epstein and others in his orbit, according to a transcript released by the Justice Department. She was moved to the prison camp in Bryan, Texas, shortly after the meeting with Blanche, and no reason was given for Maxwell’s transfer.
Prosecutors put Maxwell at the center of Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring and said that for roughly a decade, she helped him recruit, groom and abuse victims who were under the age of 18. She shows up extensively in records released by the Justice Department in recent months under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law, passed by Congress and signed by Mr. Trump in November, required the Justice Department to make public all of its material related to its investigations into Epstein and Maxwell.
As part of its own probe of Epstein’s case, the Oversight Committee has demanded documents from the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate. It also issued subpoenas to a slew of former attorneys general and FBI directors, as well as Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
While the Clintons initially rebuffed the demands for their testimony, calling the subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable,” they agreed to appear for depositions later this month after facing a contempt of Congress vote.
Scott MacFarlane contributed to this report.
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