Peanut Company Officials Take 5th Amendment Self-Incrimination Protection Before Congress

Article on cnn.com -- Peanut company officials spurn Congress' questions.  Here's an excerpt:

The president of a peanut company and a plant manager accused of knowingly distributing contaminated food refused to answer questions posed by members of Congress on Wednesday, citing their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

The testimony of Stewart Parnell, president of the Peanut Corp. of America, and Sammy Lightsey, manager of the company's Blakely, Georgia, plant, before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee lasted less than 10 minutes.

Neither man had an opening statement. Asked whether it was their intention to cite constitutional protection in refusing to answer all the questions posed by the committee, both men said it was.

It was the only question they answered; Parnell cited constitutional protection even when asked whether he had heard members of a previous panel testify.

BGS