The judges at the Witch Trials are not interested in getting at the truth, only serving their purpose, which is to legitimize their authority. After the court has been seated and condemned so many innocent people, its legitimacy grows, the more people who confess, the more believable the claims of witchcraft in Salem becomes.
However, the people in a neighboring town have had enough with their own witch trials and rebelled against the court. So the judges are very protective of their own safety. They want to keep the process moving, so they don't question Elizabeth Proctor properly with any attempt to get at the truth.
In her statement, Elizabeth hints at the truth, that John had an affair with Abigail Williams, but she falls short of admitting it to the court. If she had told the court the truth, Abigail would have been identified as a liar and a harlot, a woman who had a sexual relationship outside of marriage.
The judges would have been in a predicament because, based on Abigail's testimony, they have already hung twelve innocent people. The outcome, I think, would have been that John Proctor would not have been forced to sign a confession, but would have been released, along with his wife.
Abigail Williams would have been jailed for lying to the court, a crime that would cause her to hang.
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