I love how commenters on HN and elsewhere often make the blithe recommendation to "lawyer up" as if normal people can just speed dial some white-shoe senior partner and get them on a $10k/m retainer stat.

Unless you are sitting on some real family wealth this idea that you can just "lawyer up" against the friggin' FBI is just laughable. Might as well advise people to "always call the president and get him on side".

"Always"! Like it's checking tire pressure before a long drive or something. "Oh yeah I always bring a couple of $1000/hr lawyers with me to important meetings. Better safe than sorry. What, you don't?"

There’s a great, cheaper alternative to lawyering up when your participation is optional: don’t participate and don’t discuss anything.

Nah.

You’re right sorry. I forgot the FBI was full of good guys.

Well maybe there was an annular region there in the 90s when the FBI's mission was still in-between 'try to assassinate black activists', and 'give fake bombs to muslim teenagers and then arrest them for it'.