Gayle Harvie, the woman whose public records requests eventually led to former Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser's yearlong jail sentence last month, is suing Walser's former assistant, Carol Pepperell, whom Harvie believes poisoned her dogs.

Walser was deposed in that lawsuit on June 26, and he pled the Fifth Amendment to every single question that was asked, except for his name.

He would not say whether he has been desposed before (after saying he had), and he would not even say whether he knew Pepperell, his longtime assistant.

(He also wouldn't answer whether he has been accused of rape; this is related to a 2003 sexual harassment complaint that was filed and dismissed against him. It's believed that Pepperell was his alibi at the time, and that this might be the reason why he covered up her own misdeeds, leading to his conviction last month.)

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution permits people to not answer questions that could be self-incriminating. Walser has already been convicted for his crimes in the Pepperell case, so one wonders what he has to hide at this point. Did he do more that isn't on the record?

It his right to plead the Fifth. But that doesn't mean he should do it. Walser is running for state Senate, and most voters expect openness from their elected officials. He can't even say whether he actually knew his longtime assistant.

Is this the kind of openness we can expect from him in office?

(Originally posted on Who is Fred Walser?)