WASHINGTON, D.C.: Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights when House lawmakers questioned her during the deposition on February 9, but was willing to "speak fully and honestly" if she was offered clemency.

The House Oversight Committee had wanted the convicted sex-trafficker to answer questions during a video call to the federal prison camp in Texas, but she pleaded the Fifth and refused to incriminate herself. She's now under fresh scrutiny as lawmakers try to investigate how Epstein, a well-connected financier, was able to sexually abuse underage girls for years.

However, what surprised them during the closed-door deposition was Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, suggesting that Maxwell was prepared to speak fully and honestly if President Trump granted her clemency.

He claimed that both Trump and Clinton "are innocent of any wrongdoing," and only Maxwell can explain why. So far, the revelations have shown how both Trump and Clinton spent time with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but they have not been credibly accused of wrongdoing.

A video later released by the committee showed Maxwell dressed in a brown, prison-issued shirt, sitting at a conference table with a bottle of water. She repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment right to silence.

Democrats believed her demand for clemency was a brazen effort to have Trump end her prison sentence.

"It's very clear she's campaigning for clemency," said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat.

Asked about Maxwell's appeal, the White House pointed to previous remarks from the president that indicated the prospect of a pardon was not on his radar. Other Republicans agreed with the President's assertion.

"NO CLEMENCY. You comply or face punishment," Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote on social media. "You deserve JUSTICE for what you did you monster."

Maxwell is seeking to vacate her guilty verdict, saying she was wrongly convicted. The Supreme Court refused her appeal last year. But in December, she asked a New York federal judge to review what her lawyers call "important new evidence," claiming her trial was unfair and broke constitutional rules. Her lawyer mentioned this request when telling lawmakers that Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment right.

Relatives of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most vocal victims who has since died, also sent Maxwell a letter saying they do not see her as an innocent bystander. In the letter, Sky and Amanda Roberts wrote that Maxwell played a key and intentional role in a system that found children, isolated and groomed them, and then led them to abuse.

Last summer, Maxwell was transferred from a federal prison in Florida to a lower-security prison camp in Texas after she took part in two days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

At the same time, Republican committee chairman James Comer from Kentucky had ordered Maxwell to testify, but her lawyers repeatedly said she would not answer questions. Comer was also under pressure to make Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify. After he warned them they could face contempt-of-Congress charges, both agreed to testify later this month.

Comer has been arguing with the Clintons over whether their testimony should be public, but on February 9, he said he plans to question them privately first and later release the written records and videos.