Three witnesses with ties to Donald Trump have signaled they intend to invoke their constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Witnesses seeking to evade testimony to the Jan. 6 committee may have landed on their most potent strategy: Pleading the Fifth.
In recent days, three witnesses with ties to Donald Trump have signaled they intend to invoke their constitutional right against self-incrimination. They include John Eastman, the attorney who helped lead a campaign pressuring Mike Pence to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory; Jeffrey Clark, the Justice Department lawyer whom Trump considered installing as acting attorney general to support his effort to subvert the election; and Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant.
Pro-Trump broadcaster and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones recently said on his web show that he’d likely plead the Fifth to the Capitol riot committee as well, though his attorney has repeatedly declined to comment on his plans.
Their assertions are the latest, and perhaps stiffest, test for the Jan. 6 committee as it seeks to penetrate the former president’s inner circle and piece together his actions during the chaotic closing weeks of his term. Eastman, Clark and Stone are among those who were closest to Trump as he sought to overturn the 2020 election, with some physically just blocks away as a mob of supporters overran Capitol Police and threatened the peaceful transfer of power.
Legal experts say the committee has few options once a witness pleads the Fifth — and the choices they do have are risky or impractical.
……..
- Discussion
-
Witnesses seeking to evade testimony to the Jan. 6 committee may have landed on their most potent strategy: Pleading the Fifthhttps://t.co/8Rr97TAo0v
— POLITICO (@politico) December 9, 2021
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.