"a witness may have a reasonable fear of prosecution and yet be innocent of any wrongdoing. The privilege serves to protect the innocent who otherwise might be

"a witness may have a reasonable fear of prosecution and yet be innocent of any wrongdoing. The privilege serves to protect the innocent who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances." - Slochower v. Board of Education - 350 U.S. 551 (1956) http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/350/551/case.html http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/350/551/case.html "we recognized that truthful responses of an innocent witness, as well as those of a wrongdoer, may provide the government with incriminating evidence from the speaker’s own mouth." - Ohio v. Reiner - 532 U.S. 17 (2001) https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/532/17/case.html https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/532/17/case.html This is why "nothing to hide" fails as logic. Even the innocent can be misrepresented or misunderstood in ways that appear criminal.