Can they simultaneously criminally charge him and force him to testify before Congress without violating his 5th amendment rights? I think getting charged criminally does get him out of having to testify to Congress, or at least it should.
> North Takes Fifth Amendment in Testimony to Senate Panel : Claimed Protection at Least 40 Times, One Source Says
> WASHINGTON — Congressional sources said today that fired National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Oliver L. North took the Fifth Amendment during his testimony Monday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
> One source, who, like the others demanded anonymity, said North took the Fifth Amendment at least 40 times. Another source said he declined to answer a number of questions put to him by senators and committee staff members.
> Asked about an apparent contradiction between Sen. Dave Durenberger’s contention that witnesses had been candid and the report that North refused to answer many questions, committee spokesman Dave Holliday said he would make no attempt to clear it up.
> The Fifth Amendment protects an individual in any proceeding from being required to give testimony that he feels may incriminate him. Invoking it carries no implication of guilt.
> Senator David Durenberger, Republican of Minnesota, who is chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, likened the proceedings before the panel to a grand jury investigation. He said witnesses were testifying under oath.
You don't have to have been charged to have 5th ammendment rights or be able to exersize them. He could have pled the 5th and not said anything whether or not they already charged him, it doesn't change that.
(If they grant you immunity , so they can't charge you even in the future, that's the only thing that gets you out of being able to plead the fifth).
