[Hoodat]

“She read a statement and then said she wouldn’t answer any questions. She was about to be dismissed then Trey Gowdy called a point of order and said she waived her 5th amendment rights by telling her side. She was dismissed subject to recall while the committed looks into whether she can do that legally.”

Correct. Exercising the right to remain silent means remaining silent. Once you testify, you essentially waive that right; and testify is exactly what she just did.

Think of a criminal case where one is on trial for murder. Once the defendant decides to take the witness stand and answer questions from his own lawyer, he opens himself up to cross-examination. Once he decides to testify, he does not get to pick and choose which questions he will answer from the prosecutor.

The same goes for Lerner here. Once she decided to issue a statement, she opened herself up to cross-examination, (at which point she decided to invoke Amendment V). The mistake here is that they allowed her to read the statement to begin with before asking her a question they knew she wouldn't answer.

[iontheball]

The mistake here is that they allowed her to read the statement to begin with before asking her a question they knew she wouldn’t answer.
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She voluntarily took the stand and testified on her own behalf, claiming she did nothing wrong. Is she able to state her case and not be subjected to opposing questions on the very matter she denied culpability? She can refuse to respond to opposing questions, but she will/should be held in contempt and subjected to all the ensuing penalties.