Glenn Simpson would prefer not to (3)

As anticipated in earlier installments of this series, Fusion GPS principal Glenn Simpson asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee. Catherine Herridge and Alex Pappas have the story for FOX News here.

Did Simpson also assert a fictitious First Amendment right not to testify, as his lawyer advertised in the letter I posted in part 1? The story doesn’t say. This borrows from the old playbook of recalcitrant Communists called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and Simpson’s letter kept up the Commie drumbeat today.

“This committee would make Sen. Joseph McCarthy proud,” Simpson attorney Joshua Levy said. “Like Sen. McCarthy, this committee has largely conducted its business through secret, confidential interviews and depositions, binding witnesses and their counsels into silence while the members walk outside to all of you the media with public and selectively leaked interviews to tell you what they want you to hear.”

What we have here is a serious case of projection. As I noted in the second part of “Anatomy of a Fusion smear,” Glenn Simpson is the master of the leaked smear. It is a hallmark of his modus operandi.

Simpson’s assertion of the Fifth Amendment raises an intriguing question. What guilty knowledge does Simpson have? Inquiring minds would want to know if any existed among the mainstream media.

I also wonder if Simpson hasn’t waived his Fifth Amendment right. He has voluntarily testified at length to Congress on the subjects with respect to which his testimony is sought again. I may be mistaken, but I think he has lost his right to refuse to testify on the ground that he may incriminate himself now.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses