Ghislaine Maxwell’s Fifth Amendment Claim Under Fire as Legal Expert Questions Its Validity

Judge Andrew Napolitano questioned Ghislaine Maxwell’s decision on Monday to invoke the Fifth Amendment during a House Oversight Committee hearing, stating the move is puzzling given her apparent lack of additional legal exposure.

Napolitano noted that Maxwell had declined to answer questions in a video call with the committee from the federal prison where she serves a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

“She asserted the Fifth Amendment to everything. She may have given her name,” Napolitano said, explaining that courts typically do not allow selective invocation of the constitutional protection.

“Either you invoke the Fifth for everything, and once you inadvertently answer something other than your name, you have given up your Fifth Amendment right,” he added.

Napolitano questioned whether Maxwell has a valid Fifth Amendment claim, pointing out she has already been convicted and sentenced with alleged conduct dating back years.

“She’s been in jail for four years. She can’t be prosecuted,” Napolitano said. “So what Fifth Amendment right is she asserting?”

“How could it possibly incriminate her if it’s too late to sue her and it’s too late to prosecute her?” he asked.

Napolitano also stated that House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., would likely not challenge Maxwell’s assertion in federal court. He noted Congress has limited leverage over someone already serving a lengthy prison sentence.

“What are they going to do to her?” Napolitano inquired. “She has 16 more years in jail. They’re not going to add to that.”

The judge referenced Maxwell’s prior cooperation with the Justice Department in July, when she met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over two days.

“I read the transcript of the interview,” Napolitano said. “It seemed the questions were perfectly appropriate, and her answers were more or less what the DOJ wanted to hear.” He added that Maxwell was subsequently moved from an “unpleasant federal facility” to a “less restrictive federal facility.”

“What is she still hiding? What does she not want to answer?” Napolitano asked.

Napolitano emphasized that it is common for defense attorneys and congressional lawyers to negotiate which questions a witness will answer, but that did not occur in this case.

“Her lawyer said, ‘No, she’s not answering anything,’” he said. “There’s nothing to negotiate.”

According to Napolitano, at least some of the planned questions were highly sensitive, including those from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., about “President Donald Trump’s behavior with such and such a person.”

“I’m not answering,” Napolitano concluded.