Supermarket heiress tries invoking four different amendments in Jan 6 deposition

Julie Fanseri, heiress to the Publix supermarket chain that funded the bus transportation of hundreds of Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, said at the hearing of the House Select Committee on January 6. I tried to avoid answering the previous question. The U.S. Constitution, as well as her Fifth Amendment right to self-incrimination.

According to a transcript of the deposition released by the commission late Wednesday, Fancelli or her lawyers were asked whether they made any effort to find documents corresponding to the subpoena issued in December 2021. When Fancelli replied: “I refuse to answer in accordance with the rights granted to me under the Constitution, including the First, Fourth, Fifteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.” .

Under the Fifth Amendment, a person may refuse to answer a question if the answer could potentially be incriminating. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, while the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments protect against unjustified searches and require due process in criminal proceedings.

Commission investigators said Fancelli’s deposition was “part of the Commission’s ongoing oversight to respect the right to associate while preventing incitement to violence, or conduct that leads to violence.” and asked if she claimed answering the question would violate her right to free speech.

Fancelli gave the same answer. “I refuse to respond pursuant to the rights granted to me under the Constitution, including the First, Fourth, Fifteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.”

Pressed further as to how answering the question would violate “or the more specific protections afforded under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the supermarket’s heir simply repeated his earlier proclamation. rice field.

Mr. Fanseri’s depositions document more than 30 separate instances in which Trump supporter witnesses refused to answer questions for fear that answering the committee’s questions could lead them to criminal charges. was one.

The panel announced depositions of Fifth Amendment-invoked witnesses ahead of the release of its final report, which is scheduled for Thursday.