C'punks, On Tue, 26 Jul 1994, Eric Hughes wrote:
. . . When, under oath, you tell the judge that the passphrase is "I do not pay income taxes", the less abbreviated version is "I testify under oath that the passphrase is 'I do not pay income taxes'."
The second statement is not testimony that you do not pay income taxes.
Just to play Devil's Advocate, here is another twist to this "passphrase as self-incrimination" thread. Let us say you have, in fact, committed a more serious offense about which the government knows nothing. If your passphrase not only admitted the crime, but gave information which could lead to corroboration of the admission, you could arguably withhold the passphrase. As an example, your passphrase could be: I shot a cop in the back and buried his body under the porch at 123 Main St., anywhere USA. The gun is wrapped in an oily cloth in my mother's attic. "I decline to answer on the grounds that my passphrase is a statement which may tend to incriminate me. I will only give my passphrase if I am given immunity from prosecution for the actions to which it alludes." Too cute, I know, but who knows, it might work. S a n d y