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“Obstructing accountability,” Khanna slams Maxwell’s Fifth Amendment plea
The congressman said Ghislaine Maxwell obstructed accountability by refusing to answer questions during a closed-door House deposition.
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Staff Reporter - Mon, 09, Feb 2026
- 14:27 EST
- 16
Ro Khanna / Ro Khanna website
Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna on Feb. 9 accused Ghislaine Maxwell of obstructing accountability after she refused to answer questions during a closed-door congressional deposition, invoking the Fifth Amendment in response to every inquiry.
Khanna, a member of the House Oversight Committee and a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, said Maxwell declined to answer questions about other alleged perpetrators connected to the sexual abuse of underage girls on financier Jeffrey Epstein’s island, telling lawmakers she would cooperate only in exchange for clemency.
Also Read: Filmmaker Mira Nair mentioned in latest Epstein Files
Here is my conclusion after sitting through Maxwell's deposition with her refusing to answer a single question about the men who raped underage girls, saying she would only do so for clemency.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 9, 2026
She must immediately be sent back to the maximum security prison where she belongs. https://t.co/1LiInZsP5i
“She refused to answer a single question about the men who raped underage girls,” Khanna wrote on X after the session, adding that she “must immediately be sent back to the maximum security prison where she belongs.”
Speaking after the deposition, Khanna questioned Maxwell’s decision to take what he described as a blanket Fifth Amendment plea, including on questions he said would not incriminate her directly.
He also raised concerns about what he described as an inconsistency in her responses, asking why Maxwell did not invoke the Fifth Amendment during earlier questioning by Justice Department officials, but did so before Congress on matters that could implicate others.
Khanna said he had submitted a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer ahead of the deposition outlining six to seven specific questions, including the identities of alleged co-conspirators and whether Maxwell had discussed clemency or other arrangements involving President Donald Trump.
According to Khanna, Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to each of those questions.
The deposition was part of an ongoing House Oversight Committee inquiry into the handling and disclosure of federal records related to Epstein and his network. Maxwell appeared virtually from federal custody and declined to provide substantive testimony, according to lawmakers present.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking and related charges for her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Khanna has been among the lawmakers pressing for greater transparency in the Epstein case, including the release of government records and the identification of individuals who may have escaped scrutiny.
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