Immunity Off-Limits

January 12, 2008
Immunity Off-Limits

Mr. Rodriguez has been subpoenaed to appear before the House intelligence committee next week, and Mr. Bennett has said he won't allow his client to testify without immunity -- as any lawyer worth his salt would do, especially when the Justice Department has already launched its own investigation. Generally, when a witness testifies before Congress under a grant of immunity, prosecutors are not allowed to use the testimony unless they can prove they obtained the same information independently. This is a difficult hurdle to clear and a major reason that courts threw out the criminal case against Iran-contra defendant Oliver L. North.

There is no indication that the committee is poised to grant Mr. Rodriguez immunity, and we urge the committee to stand its ground and rebuff Mr. Bennett's request.