You need not weep for Susan McDougal to mourn for the Fifth Amendment, which takes a beating. McDougal could not be compelled to testify at her trial, but after her conviction Starr and the judge said she lost that protection. The prosecutor said she had to answer questions about the deal for which she was convicted and that she would be subject to perjury charges for her answers. If she did not corroborate the testimony of David Hale, the convicted swindler who ran the small business lending operation, the special prosecutor would seek to have her charged with perjury. If Starr was right in his assertions to the judge last week, if McDougal breaks under the prospect of endless prison and testifies, that still may happen.
Justice never exacts such a price from recalcitrant mafia dons, terrorists or swindlers.
It is reserved for times when the prosecutor's quarry is a political enemy. The interminable hazing of Susan McDougal and the dragnet for private misbehaviors by the Clintons are evidence that the prosecutor has too much time, too much money and too much discretion. No man can defend his life so consistently that the state, with unlimited manpower, money and time, cannot find some statute that has not been observed.