Judge Andrew Napolitano questioned Ghislaine Maxwell's decision Monday to invoke the Fifth Amendment to the House Oversight Committee, telling Newsmax the move is curious because she appears to face no additional legal exposure.
Napolitano joined "National Report" after Maxwell declined to answer questions during a video call with the committee from the federal prison where she's serving 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 generally do not allow selective invocation.
"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 said.
Napolitano questioned whether Maxwell even has a valid Fifth Amendment claim, given her legal status. She has already been convicted and sentenced, and the alleged conduct at issue dates 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?"
Napolitano said it's unlikely that House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., will challenge Maxwell's assertion in federal court, noting that Congress has little leverage over someone already serving a lengthy prison sentence.
"What are they going to do to her?" he asked. "She's got 16 more years in jail. They're not going to add to that."
Napolitano also pointed to Maxwell's prior cooperation with the Justice Department last July, when she met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche across two days.
"I read the transcript of the interview. It seemed the questions were perfectly appropriate, and her answers were more or less what the DOJ wanted to hear," Napolitano said, adding that Maxwell was later moved "from an unpleasant federal facility to a less restrictive federal facility."
"What is she still hiding? What does she not want to answer?" he asked.
Napolitano said it's common for defense attorneys and congressional lawyers to negotiate which questions a witness will answer, but that did not happen in this case.
"Her lawyer said, 'No, she's not answering anything.' There's nothing to negotiate," he said.
According to Napolitano, at least some of the planned questions were highly sensitive.
He noted that Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., publicly released questions he intended to ask, including inquiries about "President [Donald] Trump's behavior with such and such a person."
"I'm not answering," Napolitano said, summing up Maxwell's position.
GET TODAY NEWSMAX :
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials. Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX on your smartphone or home TV app. Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.