Women abused by Jeffrey Epstein are “very angry” at Ghislaine Maxwell’s decision to remain silent during a US Congressional hearing, a victim of Epstein has said.
In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking for Epstein and sentenced to 20 years.
She continues to maintain her innocence and has lodged various legal appeals in a bid to clear her name.
On Monday, Maxwell appeared virtually before the US House Oversight Committee to answer questions about the Epstein files.
Ghislaine Maxwell. Picture by: US Federal Bureau of Prisons.Ahead of the hearing, Maxwell’s lawyers made clear she would invoke the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution - the right to remain silent - and decline to answer any questions.
After she repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer described her behaviour as “obviously very disappointing”.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Epstein victim Ashely Ford Rubright said there had been a “small part of me” that hoped she would answer the Committee’s questions.
However, she knew “logically” it was unlikely that Maxwell would want to help further uncover Epstein’s crimes.
“The thing with Ghislaine is she is 100% self-serving,” she said.
“So, I don't expect a lot out of her personally.
“I know that a lot of the girls are feeling very angry and hurt.
“I'm not surprised - so, it's hard for me to allow myself to be angry about it.”
United States Representative Jared Moskowitz (Democrat of Florida) holds a photo board featuring a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump, during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability meeting. Picture by: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Sipa USA.Ms Ford Rubright met the paedophile financier at the age of 15 or 16, the exact date is “hazy”.
“I only saw him twice and I was abused by him both times,” she revealed.
While many powerful men whose names have appeared in the Epstein files have insisted they knew nothing about the criminal behaviour of the devious financier, Ms Ford Rubright believes that the true nature of the man was obvious.
“There's no way that you could have, at least entered his houses, and not known that there was something deeply wrong with this man,” she said.
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In the years after she was abused by him, Ms Ford Rubright has tried to “avoid” and only recently has gone public with her story.
“Even after his arrest in 2008, I avoided the thought of him because I thought that my chance for any sort of justice was gone once he was arrested and convicted,” she explained.
“But to to learn now how many women were abused even while he was in jail, wearing his ankle monitor in 2008, it makes me sick to my stomach.”
Jeffrey Epstein. Picture by: Department of Justice.Ms Ford Rubright added that it is still “very difficult” for her that Epstein remains such an ubiquitous topic of discussion in the news.
“Since September, I've been public and been able to talk about it,” she continued.
“It's made it a lot less difficult than it was when I was anonymous.
“Being a Jane Doe [an anonymous woman in a legal case] is very isolating and lonely.
“You hear everybody talking about it and you hear all the speculation and you have some of these answers, but you can't say anything - and that's very hard.”
Anyone who has been impacted by domestic violence can contact Women’s Aid’s National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Main image: Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein
