Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, intends to invoke her right to remain silent during questioning by the US House Oversight Committee, according to her lawyer. Maxwell is expected to appear virtually for Monday's closed-door deposition from the Texas prison where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. I can confirm that she will take the 5th, Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus told the BBC on Sunday, referring to the right to avoid self-incrimination outlined in the Fifth Amendment of the US constitution. Maxwell will instead read a prepared statement at the outset of the deposition, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna said. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in luring underage girls for Epstein, her former boyfriend, to exploit. Epstein died in prison in 2019. She is seeking a pardon from Trump and has been accused of lying to federal officials. Khanna plans to ask Maxwell about a court document she filed last year saying there were four named co-conspirators and 25 others who were not indicted as part of the Epstein investigation. He also plans to inquire whether the US president ever discussed a potential pardon for her with her defence team. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, stating he severed contact decades ago. Khanna noted that Maxwell's refusal to answer this time appears inconsistent with her prior conduct, as she previously did not invoke the Fifth Amendment during a meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche regarding similar subjects. The testimony comes alongside the release of millions of pages of documents from the Department of Justice related to the Epstein investigation.