WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Rion urged Trump officials to adopt a uniform Fifth Amendment strategy.
  • She said coordinated refusals could blunt Democratic-led hearings.
  • Rion cited Fauci and Wallace-Jones as examples of witnesses invoking the Fifth.
  • She argued the policy should be adopted before investigations begin.

Chanel Rion is calling for President Donald Trump’s administration to adopt a coordinated legal strategy aimed at neutralizing congressional investigations once Democrats take control of both chambers.

Rion argued that administration officials should respond to Democratic-led hearings by invoking their Fifth Amendment rights in a uniform way, preventing lawmakers from turning testimony into what she described as political theater.

She began by pointing to comments from California Democrat Robert Garcia, who she said celebrated the prospect of leading the House Oversight Committee.

"Lawyer up, the gleeful election night words of California Democrat Robert Garcia typed as he drooled over the prospects of soon chairing the House Oversight Committee in February. Lawyer up, let's think about this for a second."

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Rion questioned how much power Democratic-led committees would actually have if administration officials refused to participate beyond asserting their constitutional rights.

"What exactly does this dimwit threaten? His trenchant questions at some squirrel ball and toothless committee hearing, featuring he himself as Perry Mason. We saw how effective those were, even under a motivated Republican House and Senate."

She argued that congressional committees have limited enforcement power without cooperation from the Justice Department.

"Toothless legislatures don't own the DOJ; they cannot prosecute even bear contempt without it. Think about that."

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Rion then outlined the response she believes Trump officials should use whenever they are questioned in Democratic-led hearings.

"So policy-wide, MAGA, the Trump administration needs to take the fifth all the time, every single time, using this exact phrasing. On advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to respond on the grounds that my testimony is likely to become manipulated, or might tend to somehow incriminate me during this a contrived political drama, I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to decline answer and remain silent as an innocent, presumed innocent by law of any wrongdoing."

She said officials should not repeatedly deliver the full statement during every line of questioning, but instead refer back to their initial response.

"And to every question in series after that reply, don't say it all over again. Say I restate and invoke my first response verbatim."

According to Rion, announcing that policy before hearings begin would significantly reduce their effectiveness.

"If it is announced now that every deponent at every hearing will be responding identically to every question that the Democrats throw at them to be vaunted lawyer up hearings, the hearings are over before they start."

She cited past testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci as an example of how witnesses have invoked the Fifth Amendment.

In the video clip, Fauci said:

"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. Respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution."

Rion then claimed that Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly.

"Dr. Fauci took the Fifth 111 times. Nothing happened to him. Good advice of counsel."

She also pointed to Regina Wallace-Jones, identified in the segment as the president of ActBlue.

When asked, "How much fraud is too much fraud?" Wallace-Jones replied:

"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question, pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution."

Rion said Wallace-Jones used that response multiple times.

"She did that 22 times."

Rion argued that Trump administration officials should refine the approach to avoid creating repetitive television clips that could be used against them politically.

"Don't give the left the pleasure of back-to-back "I plead the fifth" sound bites like they gifted us with Fauci and others."

She then repeated the language she believes should become administration-wide policy.

"Adopt this today as a policy, administration-wide, every single political, every single cabinet official, everyone inside the Trump White House, on advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to respond on the grounds that my testimony is likely to become manipulated or might tend to somehow incriminate me during this a contrived political drama. I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to decline answer and remain silent as an innocent, presumed innocent by law of any wrongdoing."

Rion said officials should follow every additional question with the same abbreviated response.

"To every question in series after that reply, I restate and invoke my first response verbatim."

She presented the strategy as a way to preempt investigations before Democratic committee chairs can use hearings to pressure Trump administration officials.

"We can play this game too. Democrats controlling both House and Senate for the next two years will have absolutely nowhere to go, so preempt their threats, threaten them with the one thing they cannot stand: the law."

Rion concluded by arguing that the administration should adopt the policy immediately rather than allow congressional investigations to dominate the next two years.

"But adopt this policy today. The best defense is a stronger offense, and nothing offends a Democrat more than when you mock their self-invented powers."

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