美国第五修正案禁止任何人在刑事案件中被迫作证自己 [1]。这一原则源于17世纪英国普通法，后被纳入美国宪法首批十项修正案（权利法案）中，成为了美国刑事司法制度的核心原则 [1]。
该修正案在不同法律程序中的适用方式存在差异。在刑事案件中，被告人拒绝作证时，陪审团必须被告知沉默不等于有罪 [1]；但在民事案件中，可以从拒绝作证中得出不利推论 [1]。这种权利也可在国会听证会等场合援引 [1]。
近年来，多位知名人物都曾引用这一修正案。2022年，唐纳德·特朗普在针对特朗普集团的民事案件中多次援引第五修正案 [1]。安东尼·福奇博士在共和党参议院委员会听证会上也援引过该修正案 [1]。此外，在1950年代麦卡锡参议员的反共听证会中，一些证人曾援引该修正案 [1]。
The phrase "pleading the Fifth" refers to a fundamental protection enshrined in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that shields individuals from being compelled to testify against themselves [1]. This right, which has become a cornerstone of the American criminal justice system, originated in seventeenth-century English common law before being incorporated into the Bill of Rights as one of the first ten amendments to the Constitution [1].
The Fifth Amendment's protections operate differently depending on the legal context [1]. In criminal cases, when defendants invoke this right and refuse to testify, juries must be instructed that silence cannot be interpreted as an admission of guilt [1]. However, the same protection does not extend uniformly to civil proceedings, where adverse inferences may be drawn from a witness's refusal to answer questions [1]. The amendment has also been invoked during congressional hearings, including by Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Republican Senate committee proceeding and by Donald Trump in 2022 when he cited the protection multiple times in a civil case involving the Trump Organization [1]. During the McCarthy-era hearings of the 1950s, witnesses similarly invoked the Fifth Amendment when called to testify in anti-communist proceedings [1].