Kinzinger Attempts to Give ‘Expertise’ on 5th Amendment, Gets Roasted in Comments for How Bad It Is
It’s obvious these days that freedom of speech and religion are under attack. As is the right to bear arms and to be secure in one’s property and privacy.
So, with the First, Second and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution in jeopardy, Rep. Adam Kinzinger is now gutting the Fifth Amendment regarding self-incrimination.
A member of Nancy Pelosi’s Jan. 6 committee, Kinzinger suggested that those involved in the Capitol incursion who invoke Fifth Amendment protection are, in effect, admitting guilt.
Or as he tweeted, “We respect the 5th amendment, but pleading the 5th says a lot.”
Translation: We don’t need no stinkin’ Fifth Amendment. Plead the Fifth and you’re guilty.
Such deliberate misrepresentation of a fundamental American right set Twitter afire with pushback
In addition to outlining due process and prohibiting double jeopardy, the Fifth Amendment states, “No person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.
Courts can subpoena witnesses to testify against their will. But the Fifth Amendment means a defendant cannot under any circumstances be required to testify. It’s a protection against coercion through torture or prosecutorial trickery.
“The Fifth Amendment protects both the innocent and the guilty,” according to FindLaw.
“An innocent person could plead the fifth if they are innocent of the crime being investigated, but answering could lead to minor, unrelated criminal charges. An innocent person may plead the fifth if they know they are innocent, but the situation looks bad for them and answering will only arouse more suspicion.”
Also, “a prosecutor cannot argue to the jury that the defendant’s silence implies guilt,” according to the website of the MoloLamken law firm.
But Kinzinger doesn’t care.
Despite all the uncertainty about what actually happened on Jan. 6, 2021, he has all but said those pleading the Fifth are guilty of crimes.
So the chipping away at the First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments continues.
At least no one is compromising the Third Amendment by quartering troops in our houses.
Yet.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
