EDITOR:

Right Wing conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter, Alex Jones was recently questioned under oath by the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

Afterward, he told reporters he had “plead the Fifth, nearly 100 times.”

That’s a lot of pleading from a bombastic guy who spends so much time shouting, pointing fingers, and accusing others of wrongdoing.

Why would Jones repeatedly plead the Fifth?

Ratified on December 15, 1791 the Fifth Amendment bans double jeopardy and illegal search and seizure and guarantees due process under the law. It also guards against a person’s own words being used as testimony against themselves.

It effectively places the burden of proof on prosecutors and courts, rather than upon the words of a defendant. Because our words cannot be used against us, we are not subject to coercion or torture to extract our confessions.

But there is a downside to pleading one’s rights under the Fifth Amendment.

When one swears to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” one accepts full responsibility if what one says is shown to be less than completely true.

Because Jones protected himself by pleading the Fifth, we know that if he had been entirely honest in his deposition he would have been implicating himself in a crime; perhaps several.

On the other hand, if he had answered the questions put to him but had concealed pertinent information, twisted the facts, or just plain lied he would be guilty of the crime of perjury.

When a sworn witness pleads their rights against self-incrimination they are protected in that moment from harm. Nevertheless, they are also implying that they are guilty of something related to the question(s) which they do not want their interrogators to know.

By his own admission, Alex Jones took the Fifth “nearly 100 times.” For an innocent man, with nothing to hide, that seems like a lot of not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We do not know specifically what he has done that was illegal, but we do know that Mr. Jones has been a very bad boy.

In effect he told Congress that he has committed crimes. We don’t yet know if he stole cookies from the cookie jar or if he conspired with others to overthrow the government. But we do have reason to assume that Alex Jones is a devious and likely crooked man who hides behind the law and therefore should not be trusted.

Daniel M. Young

Escanaba