Rep. Jamie Raskin says Fifth Amendment is not a 'get-out-of-a-subpoena card' after Alex Jones uses it 'almost 100 times'

After conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed Tuesday to have pleaded the Fifth "almost 100 times" during his testimony before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, panel member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has publicly taken issue with the flawed strategy.
"The thing that Mr. Jones and all of the defendants and all of the witnesses are forgetting is that the Fifth Amendment is meant to be used selectively if you think that you might be incriminating yourself by answering a question," Raskin said during an appearance on MSNBC. "It's not a magic wand that you wave over the whole proceeding and you don't have to answer anything."
"So, it's only to be used if you think that the answer that you're about to give will provide evidence to the government that could be used against you in prosecution for a crime," he added. "But if it relates to other people, if it relates to general events, if it doesn't lead to your own incrimination, you can't use it like that."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"So what we're seeing is this extravagant new deployment of the Fifth Amendment as a kind of get-out-of-a-subpoena card."
Jones was asked to appear before the committee last month in a letter claiming investigators had evidence he had helped plan and finance the "Stop the Steal" rally preceding the Capitol attack.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
How is March Madness changing in the era of sports betting and Name Image and Likeness?
Today's Big Question College sports has experienced a revolution. NIL payments are letting players get paid. The rise of sports betting has brought new pressures to the game.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Pope returns to Vatican after long hospital stay
Speed Read Pope Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14 and battled double pneumonia
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Mark Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk set to earn billions from Trump administration
Speed Read Musk's company SpaceX will receive billions in federal government contracts in the coming years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reports: Musk to get briefed on top secret China war plan
Speed Read In a major expansion of Elon Musk's government role, he will be briefed on military plans for potential war with China
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump signs order to end Education Department
Speed Read The move will return education 'back to the states where it belongs,' the president says
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses $175M for Penn over trans athlete
Speed Read The president is withholding federal funds from the University of Pennsylvania because it once allowed a transgender swimmer to compete
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump purports to 'void' Biden pardons
Speed Read Joe Biden's pardons of Jan. 6 committee members are not valid because they were done by autopen, says Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
White House ignores judicial deportation blocks
Speed Read The Trump administration deports alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, defying a court order
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published