Lawmaker warns Justice official Fifth Amendment won't stop interview

By Terry Kivlan, CongressDaily

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., on Tuesday warned Justice Department official Monica Goodling that she has to appear for questioning on her role in the fired federal prosecutors affair even though she intends to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

In a letter to her lawyer, John Dowd, Conyers cited "long-standing U.S. Supreme Court precedents" finding that witnesses who seek the protection of the Fifth Amendment might be required to invoke it on a question-by-question basis.

Goodling, who served as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' counsel and liaison to the White House before she took a leave of absence, informed the committee last month that she would not answer questions about the removal of eight U.S. attorneys late last year. She was one of six top Justice officials summoned for interviews by committee staffers investigating whether the firings were politically motivated.