Why Did Richard Trumka Take the Fifth?

Why did Richard Trumpka take the fifth? Here's a flashback 1998 to a John Fund column:

Carey may be gone, but there is growing evidence that both the Democratic National Committee and other unions were involved in his misdeeds. Mary Jo White, the U.S. Attorney for the southern district of New York, has detailed how officials of AFSCME, the Service Employees Union and the AFL-CIO all were involved in illegal schemes to fund the Carey campaign. She has established that AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka sent a letter requesting $150,000

from the Teamsters. Then the AFL-CIO donated an identical amount to Citizen Action, a left-wing group, which then paid the November Group consulting firm $100,000 to send out last-minute mailings trashing Carey's main rival, James P. Hoffa.

White also has released evidence that DNC officials attempted a similar money-laundering scheme. Trumka twice has taken the Fifth Amendment when asked about these charges. Last month, Rep. Peter Hoekstra's (R-MI) subcommittee quizzed John Sweeney, Trumka's boss, about why he was still in office despite an AFL-CIO rule requiring the expulsion of any official who invoked the Fifth to cover up union corruption.

When asked if he knew why Trumka had taken the Fifth, Sweeney

admitted he had never had a substantive conversation with him about it. "He said he had been advised by his attorneys not to discuss the matter with anyone," Sweeney said.

Should Trumka resign as head of the AFL-CIO? Here's more on the subject.