re: Lois Lerner Wants Secrecy Forever

quote:

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'Failure of a party who is present at the trial to answer questions based on the privilege against self-incrimination, raises a strong inference that the answers would have been unfavorable and damaging to them, and a comment to that effect is proper.’

The Fifth Amendment does not forbid adverse inferences against parties to civil actions, when they refuse to testify in response to probative evidence offered against them. The Amendment ‘does not preclude a negative inference where the privilege is claimed by a party to a civil case.’

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