The short answer is no—there is not a meaningful partisan breakdown because most people who invoke the Fifth before Congress are not elected officials. They are private citizens, government employees, business executives, political appointees, or campaign staff. Their personal party affiliation is often unknown or irrelevant.
If, however, you classify them by the political administration or organization they were associated with at the time, a rough breakdown of the highest-profile cases since 1950 looks like this:
| Associated with | Approx. high-profile witnesses |
|---|---|
| Republican administrations or campaigns | 20–30+ |
| Democratic administrations or campaigns | 15–20+ |
| Nonpartisan/business/organized crime/private citizens | 100+ |
Examples include:
Associated with Republicans
Oliver North
John Poindexter
John Eastman
Roger Stone
Numerous January 6 investigation witnesses invoked the Fifth. The committee reported that more than 30 witnesses did so, and the overwhelming majority were associated with Republican campaigns or the Trump administration. (Wikisource)
Associated with Democrats
Lois Lerner
John Huang
Anthony Fauci (2026 Senate hearing) (The Guardian)
Anthony Bernal (2025 House Oversight deposition) (AP News)
Regina Wallace-Jones (2026 House hearing) (The Washington Post)
Nonpartisan or no clear party affiliation
Organized crime figures from the Kefauver hearings, including Frank Costello and many others.
Executives such as Kenneth Lay.
Martin Shkreli.
Many labor leaders, business executives, and private citizens.
If you're asking whether one party has used the Fifth more than the other
There is no official congressional study concluding that Democrats or Republicans invoke the Fifth more often. The apparent pattern tends to reflect which party is under congressional investigation at a given time:
1950s: Mostly alleged communists, labor officials, and organized crime figures.
Watergate (1970s): Mostly Nixon administration officials (Republican).
Iran-Contra (1980s): Mostly Reagan administration officials (Republican).
Clinton campaign finance (1990s): More Democratic-associated witnesses.
IRS investigations (2013): More Democratic administration officials.
January 6 (2021–2022): Predominantly Republican-associated witnesses. (Wikisource)
Recent Biden-related investigations (2025–2026): Several Democratic administration officials or associates have invoked the Fifth. (AP News)
If your goal is to compare every subpoenaed witness who invoked the Fifth from 1950 to 2026, I can assemble a chronological table with roughly 75–150 identifiable individuals, noting:
whether they were subpoenaed,
the congressional committee,
the year,
and whether they were associated with Democrats, Republicans, Independents, or no political affiliation.
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