Existing comment:
Pleading the Fifth
The Fifth Amendment provides protections to accused criminals, including the right against self-incrimination. During the "red scare" of the 1950s, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee subpoenaed film industry members and required that they answer questions about themselves and others who may have been communists. Although she was a playwright, not a criminal, Lillian Hellman "pled the Fifth," refusing to testify.
Letter to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) from Lillian Hellman
regarding her subpoena, May 19, 1952, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives |