Re: subpoenas of personal papers

I really doubt that a judge would accept the argument that a private key was a statement. Their position is going to be that it is a physical entity identical with (from the legal perspective) a personal diary. They could also take the positiont that the key is a part of a process whereby they gain access to your papers and hence cant be incriminating in and of itself. If this is the position they take then the 5th does no good. If it can be showsn that the complete range of answers to a question can't be incriminating then you are the same creek.