Ms. Maxwell, were you a close friend and confidon of Jeffrey Epstein?

I would like to answer your question, but on the advice of counsel, I respectfully declined to

answer this question and any related questions.

Gellon Maxwell declined to answer questions from lawmakers yesterday.

That's where we're starting The Seven from the Washington Post.

I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Tuesday, February 10th.

Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories.

Glenn Maxwell is the longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Texas.

She appeared via video conference yesterday for a deposition before the House Oversight Committee.

Lawmakers wanted to question her about Epstein's crimes and potential co-conspirators.

But as you heard at the top of the show in a video of the deposition shared by the Oversight Committee, Maxwell wouldn't talk.

Ms. Maxwell, did you at any time play any role in Jeffrey Epstein's activities involving

my recruitment, grooming, or trafficking of young women or girls?

I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence.

Maxwell's lawyer said she will talk if she is first granted clemency by President Donald Trump.

Maxwell and her lawyer have been openly lobbying for Trump to end her prison term.

They have also suggested that, if he were to do so, she would provide testimony that would

lift any lingering suspicions as to whether any one-time

friends of Epstein's, including Trump, were connected to Epstein's alleged crimes.

The legality of President Trump's White House ballroom is under question. That's number two.

A federal judge is expected to soon rule on whether Trump's planned $400 million White House ballroom project can go ahead. The judge is

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