Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions during a deposition before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Monday, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, lawmakers said.

Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Democrats accused her of using the deposition to seek clemency from U.S. President Donald Trump and urged him to rule it out. Her lawyer said he advised her not to testify due to a pending habeas petition challenging her conviction.

The deposition comes as the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of documents related to Epstein, including materials involving Trump, who denies knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and disputes the authenticity of one document.

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