Ghislaine Maxwell offers to testify before Congress – but only with major conditions, including immunity
Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress but has asked lawmakers to give her immunity, along with other major conditions, according to a list of demands sent to the House oversight committee by her attorneys, seen by CNN.
James Comer, who chairs the House oversight committee, subpoenaed Maxwell to testify next month. In a new letter sent to Comer today, Maxwell’s attorneys said they initially decided to invoke her fifth amendment rights, but then offered to cooperate with Congress “if a fair and safe path forward can be established”.
The letter comes after Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes, asked the US supreme court overturn her conviction.
And her attorneys claim “any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool”.
The letter goes on: “Compounding these concerns are public comments from members of Congress that appear to have prejudged Ms. Maxwell’s credibility without even listening to what she has to say or evaluating the extensive documentation that corroborates it.”
An oversight committee spokesperson rejected the idea of giving Maxwell immunity, telling CNN:
The oversight committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony.
Per CNN’s report, Maxwell’s conditions as laid out by her attorneys include:
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A grant of formal immunity.
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The interview can’t happen at the correctional facility where she’s serving her sentence.
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“To prepare adequately for any congressional deposition – and to ensure accuracy and fairness – we would require the Committee’s questions in advance … Surprise questioning would be both inappropriate and unproductive.”
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The interview would be scheduled “only after the resolution of her supreme court petition and her forthcoming habeas petition”.
If the demands cannot be met, her attorneys said: “Maxwell will have no choice but to invoke her fifth amendment rights” (the right to remain silent).
The letter ends with an appeal for clemency from Donald Trump for which, her attorneys say, Maxwell would be “willing and eager” to testify.
Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing – and eager – to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.
Key events
The day so far
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As the Israel’s assault on Gaza nears its two-year mark, and as horrifying images of starving people and utter devastation flood social media, cracks seem to be emerging in the American right’s typically iron-clad support for Israel. Marjorie Taylor Greene became the first Republican member of Congress to call Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide, while Steve Bannon, Trump’s influential former adviser, told Politico: “It seems that for the under-30-year-old Maga base, Israel has almost no support, and Netanyahu’s attempt to save himself politically by dragging America in deeper to another Middle East war has turned off a large swath of older Maga diehards. Now President Trump’s public repudiation of one of the central tenants of Bibi’s Gaza strategy – ‘starving’ Palestinians – will only hasten a collapse of support.”
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Indeed support for Israel’s military action in Gaza has declined substantially among US adults, with only about a third approving, according to a new Gallup poll, which also found that about half of US adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the most negative rating he has received.
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On Palestine, Trump said he and UK prime minister Keir Starmer did not discuss Britain’s plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel holds to a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution. “We never did discuss it,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One.
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Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress but has asked lawmakers to give her immunity, along with other major conditions, according to a list of demands sent to the House oversight committee by her attorneys, seen by CNN. If the demands cannot be met, her attorneys said: “Maxwell will have no choice but to invoke her fifth amendment rights” (the right to remain silent). An oversight committee spokesperson rejected the idea of giving Maxwell immunity, telling CNN: “The oversight committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony.”
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor earlier to call on the FBI to undertake a counterintelligence threat assessment of Donald Trump’s Epstein connections. He highlighted the need to examine whether foreign countries might have tried to access the Epstein files and possibly exploit the information as leverage over the president.
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New York governor Kathy Hochul called for Congress to pass a national assault weapons ban following yesterday’s shooting in Manhattan which killed four people (and the shooter, who killed himself). “New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation … But our laws only go so far when an AR-15 can be obtained in a state with weak gun laws and brought into New York to commit mass murder,” Hochul said.
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Police are investigating whether the gunman was targeting the National Football League. In a note, the suspect, who appeared to have driven from Las Vegas to New York City over three days, appeared to blame the NFL for a brain injury. He claimed he suffered from CTE – the degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports like football – and said his brain should be studied after he died. A preliminary investigation found that he took the wrong elevator, ending up on the wrong floor when he opened fire in the 345 Park Avenue building, which houses the NFL headquarters.
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Trump said he would start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia “ten days from today” if Moscow did not make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine. The US president, who first announced yesterday that he was cutting his initial 50-day deadline for action from Moscow, said he had not heard a response from Russia.
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Trump said the Wall Street Journal and its billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch want to settle the president’s defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.
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The Department of Justice asked several large California counties to provide detailed personal information of non-citizens who got on to the state voter rolls, the Guardian has learned, in an unusual request that comes as the Trump administration has asked about a dozen states to provide wide swaths of information about voters and election practices.
Majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza, while Netanyahu approval drops to record low, poll finds
Support for Israel’s military action in Gaza has declined substantially among US adults, with only about a third approving, according to a new Gallup poll — a drop from the beginning of the war with Hamas, when about half of Americans approved of Israel’s operation.
The new polling also found that about half of US adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the most negative rating he has received since he was first included in Gallup polling in 1997. The poll was conducted from 7-21 July, while reports of starvation in Gaza led to international criticism of Israel’s decision to restrict food aid but before Donald Trump expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation.
The findings underscore the Israeli government’s dramatic loss of support within America. But not everyone is shifting — instead, the war has become more politically polarizing. The rising disapproval is driven by Democrats and independents, who are much less likely to approve of Israel’s actions than they were in November 2023, weeks after Hamas’ 7 October attacks.
Republicans, on the other hand, remain largely supportive of both Israel’s military actions and Netanyahu (though cracks are indeed emerging in the American right’s typically iron-clad support for the state of Israel).
The new poll finds that about 6 in 10 US adults disapprove of the military action Israel has taken in Gaza, up from 45% in November 2023.
Support for the war has been dwindling in Gallup’s polling for some time. In March 2024, about half of US adults disapproved of Israel’s military action in Gaza, which fell slightly as the year wore on.
In a new low, only 8% of Democrats and one-quarter of independents say they now approve of Israel’s military campaign.
Young adults are also much more likely to disapprove of Israel’s actions. Only about 1 in 10 adults under age 35 say they approve of Israel’s military choices in Gaza, compared with about half of those who are 55 or older.
Views of Netanyahu have also grown less favorable over the past few years, with more viewing him negatively than positively in measurements taken since the war in Gaza began.
About half of US adults, 52%, now have an unfavorable view of Netanyahu in the new poll, which overlapped with his recent visit to the US. Just 29% view him positively.
Republicans have a much more positive view of Netanyahu than Democrats and independents do. About two-thirds of Republicans view him favorably, which is in line with last year. About 1 in 10 Democrats and 2 in 10 independents feel the same way.
“This is the first time we’ve seen a majority of Americans, with an unfavorable view of him,” said Gallup senior editor Megan Brenan. “All of these questions in this poll show us basically the same story, and it’s not a good one for the Israeli government right now.”
As Senate Democrats plan to continue to keep up the pressure on the Trump administration over Jeffrey Epstein this week, minority leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor earlier to call on the FBI to undertake a counterintelligence threat assessment of Donald Trump’s Epstein connections.
Calling for a risk assessment to examine whether foreign countries might have tried to access the Epstein files and possibly exploit the information as leverage over Trump, Schumer said:
Americans are right to be angry over the lack of transparency. But this isn’t just about getting to the truth. This is also every bit about our national security.
Whatever may be in the Epstein files is clearly troubling enough that Donald Trump doesn’t want to touch this issue with a ten-foot pole.
So it’s natural to ask: what happens if America’s adversaries use cyber-attacks or other means to access investigative materials into Jeffrey Epstein that are embarrassing – or worse – for President Trump and the people around him?
What happens if Epstein materials end up in the hands of the Chinese government, or Russia, or North Korea?
Unless the Epstein files are released, and made fully transparent to the public, could our adversaries use that information to blackmail someone like the president? Or other senior leaders in government? What kind of risk could that pose to our national security?
He went on:
National security is not – and should never be – a partisan issue. We need to do everything we can to make sure we’re protecting the US and American families every single day. This report is imperative to do just that.
And there is one more thing Donald Trump could do to quell people’s anger, confusion, frustration and fears over the national security ramifications: stop running away from this issue. Tell the truth. And if there is clearly no national security risk, release the Epstein files, President Trump.
Justice department asked California to give details of non-citizens on voter rolls
Sam Levine
The Department of Justice has asked several large California counties to provide detailed personal information of non-citizens who got on to the state voter rolls, the Guardian has learned, in an unusual request that comes as the Trump administration has asked about a dozen states to provide wide swaths of information about voters and election practices.
The justice department’s voting section sent identical letters to local election officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego on 9 July. The request asks the officials to provide the total number of non-citizens who had their voter registrations cancelled since 2020 as well as a copy of their voter registration records, voting history, date of birth, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of a social security number. The department sent a similar request to Orange county last month and then sued the county after officials redacted some information.
“It’s deeply troubling,” said David Becker, the executive director for the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “It reflects a pretty shocking misunderstanding of federal law regarding list maintenance.”
The request for information on non-citizens comes as the Trump administration has arrested and moved to deport thousands of immigrants. Submitting a voter registration form while ineligible to vote is a crime so non-citizens that do so could be prosecuted and potentially deported. This kind of voter fraud, however, is extremely rare.
All three counties said they were reviewing the justice department’s request. The justice department did not return a request for comment.
Trump claims Wall Street Journal and Murdoch want to settle defamation lawsuit
Donald Trump said that the Wall Street Journal and its billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch want to settle the president’s defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.
On 18 July, Trump promptly sued the WSJ and its owners, including Murdoch, over a story alleging that Trump’s name was on a “lewd” birthday message for the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to shared secrets.
“I’ve been treated badly by the Wall Street Journal. I would have assumed that Rupert Murdoch controls it, but, you know, maybe does, maybe doesn’t,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“They are talking to us about doing something but we’ll see what happens. Maybe they would like us to drop that, so we’ll see … yeah, they’re having, they want to settle it,” he said, adding, “when I get treated unfairly, I do things about it.”
Trump’s lawsuit called the alleged letter “fake” and said the Journal published its article to harm his reputation.
In a court filing yesterday, Trump asked a US court to order a swift deposition for Murdoch.
The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Donald Trump also told reporters on Air Force One that he thinks he will have a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping before the end of the year, but did not elaborate.
Trump says Russia will face sanctions in 10 days if it does not move to end Ukraine war
Donald Trump said he would start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia “ten days from today” if Moscow did not make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump, who first announced yesterday that he was cutting his initial 50-day deadline for action from Moscow, said he had not heard a response from Russia.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was not worried about the potential impact of Russian sanctions on the oil market or prices, saying the US would boost domestic oil production to offset any impact.
Earlier today, my colleague Jakub Krupa reported that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Russia “has taken note” of president Trump’s comments.
He then said that a “special military operation” – their term for their illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine – continues, but Russia “remains committed to the peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine and secure our interests” – despite deadly attacks overnight.
Peskov also confirmed that there was a “slowdown” in Russian efforts to revive diplomatic relations with the US. Trump yesterday voiced his frustration with Vladimir Putin, saying:
I thought we’d be able to negotiate something. Maybe that’ll still happen, but it’s very late down the process. I’m disappointed … I’m not so interested in talking any more.
Ghislaine Maxwell offers to testify before Congress – but only with major conditions, including immunity
Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress but has asked lawmakers to give her immunity, along with other major conditions, according to a list of demands sent to the House oversight committee by her attorneys, seen by CNN.
James Comer, who chairs the House oversight committee, subpoenaed Maxwell to testify next month. In a new letter sent to Comer today, Maxwell’s attorneys said they initially decided to invoke her fifth amendment rights, but then offered to cooperate with Congress “if a fair and safe path forward can be established”.
The letter comes after Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes, asked the US supreme court overturn her conviction.
And her attorneys claim “any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool”.
The letter goes on: “Compounding these concerns are public comments from members of Congress that appear to have prejudged Ms. Maxwell’s credibility without even listening to what she has to say or evaluating the extensive documentation that corroborates it.”
An oversight committee spokesperson rejected the idea of giving Maxwell immunity, telling CNN:
The oversight committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony.
Per CNN’s report, Maxwell’s conditions as laid out by her attorneys include:
-
A grant of formal immunity.
-
The interview can’t happen at the correctional facility where she’s serving her sentence.
-
“To prepare adequately for any congressional deposition – and to ensure accuracy and fairness – we would require the Committee’s questions in advance … Surprise questioning would be both inappropriate and unproductive.”
-
The interview would be scheduled “only after the resolution of her supreme court petition and her forthcoming habeas petition”.
If the demands cannot be met, her attorneys said: “Maxwell will have no choice but to invoke her fifth amendment rights” (the right to remain silent).
The letter ends with an appeal for clemency from Donald Trump for which, her attorneys say, Maxwell would be “willing and eager” to testify.
Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing – and eager – to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.
Trump says UK did not discuss plan to recognize Palestine and says it ‘rewards’ Hamas
Donald Trump has said he and UK prime minister Keir Starmer did not discuss Britain’s plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel holds to a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution.
“We never did discuss it,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One. He and Starmer held talks in Scotland yesterday where the US president was asked about the UK’s commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state. He responded:
I’m not going to take a position, I don’t mind him [the prime minister] taking a position. I’m looking for getting people fed right now.
Reuters reports Trump also said: “You’re rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don’t think they should be rewarded.”
‘The war needs to end’: is the US right turning on Israel?
J Oliver Conroy
On this subject, longstanding ties between US conservatives and Israel are facing strain, with growing calls for the war to end and internal rifts reshaping the right. My colleague J Oliver Conroy asks today, is the US right turning on Israel?
As the Israel-Gaza war nears its two-year mark, and as images of starving people and utter devastation flood social media, cracks seem to be emerging in the American right’s typically iron-clad support for Israel.
The US continues to support Israel diplomatically and militarily, and last Thursday pulled out of peace negotiations that it accused Hamas of sabotaging. And in the US Congress, only two Republicans voted for a recent amendment that would have pulled funding for missile defense systems for Israel.
Yet the war’s duration and human cost, as well as recent Israeli strikes on Christian targets, have spurred modest signs of discontent on the US right. Some conservative commentators have walked back their support for Israel’s war; the US’s famously Zionist ambassador to Israel rebuked the actions of Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, and an unresolved rift over foreign intervention continues to plague the Maga world.
You can read the complete analysis here:
Further to my last post regarding representative Marjorie Taylor Greene becoming the first Republican member of Congress to call Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide, Steve Bannon, Trump’s influential former adviser, has told Politico:
It seems that for the under-30-year-old Maga base, Israel has almost no support, and Netanyahu’s attempt to save himself politically by dragging America in deeper to another Middle East war has turned off a large swath of older Maga diehards.
Now President Trump’s public repudiation of one of the central tenants of Bibi’s Gaza strategy – ‘starving’ Palestinians – will only hasten a collapse of support.
Politico also notes vice-president JD Vance’s remarks in Ohio yesterday, speaking of the “heartbreaking” images from Gaza. He said:
Israel’s gotta do more to let that aid in and we’ve also gotta wage war on Hamas so that those folks stop preventing food from coming into this territory.
“The days of the old GOP party line on Israel [unconditional support] could be numbered,” Politico writes.
Here’s Donald Trump boarding Air Force One a short time ago to return to Washington, in Lossiemouth, Scotland.
Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes first GOP lawmaker to call Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is the first Republican member of Congress to call Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide.
In a lengthy post on X yesterday, she wrote:
It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza.
It marks a significant break for Greene, a Trump loyalist and prominent Maga figure, with the rest of her party, who have been consistently vocal in their unconditional support for Israel.
Greene has been increasingly critical of Israel. Earlier this month, she said in another statement: “Israel bombed the Catholic Church in Gaza, and that entire population is being wiped out as they continue their aggressive war in Gaza.”
In yesterday’s post, the Georgia Republican rebuked her colleague Randy Fine, of Florida, who is under fire for calling the suffering of Palestinian people as part of a campaign of “Muslim terror propaganda”. “Release the hostages,” he wrote in a social media post last week. “Until then, starve away.”
Greene said of Fine on X:
I can only imagine how Florida’s 6th district feels now that their Representative, that they were told to vote for, openly calls for starving innocent people and children … a Jewish U.S. Representative calling for the continued starvation of innocent people and children is disgraceful. His awful statement will actually cause more antisemitism.
Related: Israel committing genocide in Gaza, say Israel-based human rights groups
Fine’s comments came before Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time yesterday that there is “real starvation” in Gaza. In a rare break with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who has denied that Israel is causing starvation in the region), Trump told Israel to allow “every ounce of food” into Gaza.
Today my colleagues report that Gaza has passed two grim landmarks on a single day, as UN-backed hunger experts warned a “worst-case scenario of famine” was unfolding in the strip and called for “immediate action” shortly before health officials announced the death toll from Israeli attacks had passed 60,000.
With more than 145,000 others injured, nearly one in 10 Palestinians who lived in Gaza two years ago has become a casualty of the war.
“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip,” the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in an alert that called for an urgent ceasefire to alleviate “widespread starvation”.
Survivors face a famine caused by Israel blocking food aid and “relentless conflict”, the report said.
“Immediate action must be taken to end the hostilities and allow for unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response. This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering.”
You can follow our coverage of the crisis here:
The shooter, Shane Tamura, who was identified by police as the gunman in yesterday’s shooting, worked at Caesars’ Horseshoe Center Strip Las Vegas as a surveillance department employee, according to the hotel and casino company.
“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this tragic event,” Caesars said in a statement shared with NBC News. “We are cooperating with law enforcement and will not be commenting further.”
NBC reports that records show a person with the name Shane Devon Tamura had a work card issued by the Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board from 2019 to 2024. But that work card did not authorize him to carry a firearm.
It is unclear what employment Tamura had held since then.
Third victim identified as Julia Hyman in media reports
The third of four victims in last night’s shooting has been identified as Julia Hyman, according to the New York Post.
Hyman was killed on the 33rd floor of the office tower, where she worked for Rudin Management as an associate, reports the Post. She graduated from Cornell in 2020.
The three other victims were all shot in the lobby of the building. They have been identified as NYPD officer Didarul Islam, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, and the third is believed to be a security guard for the building who has not yet been named.
The shooter’s intended target was the NFL offices in the building, according to NYC mayor Eric Adams. He took the wrong elevator and ended up on the 33rd floor offices of Rudin Management, where he opened fire again before shooting himself.
The UJA Federation of New York, a Jewish philanthropic organization, released a statement memorializing Wesley LePatner, who was a member of the group’s board of directors.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of Wesley LePatner, a beloved member of UJA’s community and a member of our board of directors, who was killed in yesterday’s mass shooting in Midtown.
Wesley was extraordinary in every way — personally, professionally, and philanthropically. An exceptional leader in the financial world, she brought thoughtfulness, vision, and compassion to everything she did. In 2023, we honored her with the Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award at our Wall Street Dinner, recognizing her commitment to our community and her remarkable achievements, all the more notable as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field.
In the wake of October 7, Wesley led a solidarity mission with UJA to Israel, demonstrating her enduring commitment in Israel’s moment of heartache. She lived with courage and conviction, instilling in her two children a deep love for Judaism and the Jewish people.
We mourn the loss of a life taken far too soon and extend our heartfelt condolences to her husband, Evan; her children; and her entire family.
May Wesley’s memory be for a blessing — and a lasting source of strength and inspiration.”
Several bunches of flowers are now attached to the railing of a ramp leading to the Park Avenue building’s front door, along with a yellow balloon with the words “LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!” written on it.
