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There’s been a bit of a celebratory mood on the right side of the political spectrum with the report that President Biden’s doctor pleaded the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination during recent congressional testimony. This is taken as evidence that supports the conservative accusations of Biden’s mental decline.

However, when Trump pled the 5th Amendment more than 400 times during his testimony, that is only evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and not any evidence of actual guilt or wrongdoing.

Here’s the truth: When a person pleads the 5th Amendment, it is a null result revealing and supporting nothing. There are plenty of reasons why someone’s lawyer would advise them to take the safer course even when they are not concealing any crimes of their doing. For many people, being investigated by the government is a financially ruinous event, and it’s best to avoid opening any avenues for someone, particularly political enemies, to start such an investigation.

When someone draws an instant conclusion from a person taking the 5th Amendment, that reveals much more about the preconceptions they hold than it does about the person testifying.