Norton Says Salahis' 5th Amendment Claim Cannot Rest on Norton Remarks (1/19/2010)
Norton Says Salahis' 5th Amendment Claim Cannot Rest on Norton Remarks
January 19, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC - The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) responded today to a claim by Tareq Salahi that remarks made by Norton were the reason that he and his wife would invoke the Fifth Amendment at Wednesday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing entitled "The United States Secret Service and Presidential Protection: An Examination of a System Failure." Most Members of the committee, on which Norton serves, have expressed aggravation over the actions of the Salahis. Norton said, "Members of Congress often express their personal views about witnesses before they testify, and whatever their views, they have no relationship to the congressional mission of getting factual information that can help Congress investigate what action it should take." The Congresswoman said that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination is one of the Constitution's most important, but Members of Congress do not sit as judges or juries. It is for the U.S. Attorney or a grand jury proceeding, which is believed to be underway in this case, to make initial determinations of guilt and to be free of opinions on individuals who appear before them. "Members of Congress are not stripped of their right to state their opinions before, after, or in the course of committee investigations."
Norton earlier criticized the Salahis for their reputation of deceiving others in the District and the region, particularly for accumulating unpaid bills to prepare for events like the state dinner. The Congresswoman previously said that the Salahis have left countless destructive debts to small businesses. The parent company of the Salahis' principal business, a winery, and the winery itself have filed for bankruptcy. The Salahis appear to owe money to everybody from the State of Virginia to the IRS, among others.