'Foolish': Congress dressed down for giving a 'garbage human being' leverage over them
Former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori did not mince words Tuesday on CNN when asked about Ghislane Maxwell's demands for immunity before she considers testifying on Capitol Hill.
Maxwell, who was the girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, is serving 20 years in federal prison for sex trafficking.
In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY), Maxwell's attorneys wrote that their client would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent unless they complied with her demands.
"I have to say to the folks in Congress who helped to create this — this is what happens when you give a criminal — an all-around garbage human being — leverage over you," Khardori told CNN's Brianna Keilar.
"They start creating lists of demands that make you look foolish if you accede to them; they should never have gone down this path. The Justice Department should not be working with her. She has no credibility. She's in prison for 20 years on heinous charges, and she has a whole host of incentives to lie or shade the truth. If I were still in government, I would not trust this woman and I would not touch her with a 10-foot pole."
Keilar asked why Khardori called Maxwell "garbage."
"Because what she did was heinous and awful, and she traumatized many, many young women, and they're going to live with that trauma for the rest of their lives."
Khardori continued, "One of the particularly offensive elements of the Justice Department entertaining this — Republicans in Congress entertaining this — is that she has victims, and those victims have to watch all of this unfold and have to watch them pretending like this woman has some credibility and potentially some information that may be valuable."
President Donald Trump has not ruled out pardoning Maxwell. He has called questions about his association with Epstein, a convicted sex trafficker, a "hoax" and a "scam" perpetuated by Democrats.