[valkea]

Not a lawyer. Levandowski is trying to avoid turning over (some) documents in the discovery process of the civil lawsuit Waymo is filing against Uber. They are doing this by claiming it could incriminate him and open him up to the possibility of criminal charges.

Will this actually work? Maybe. The fifth amendment is more complex than it might at first seem. One thing that's for sure is that if he is found to be withholding any documents that are relevant to the civil suit, but couldn't realistically incriminate him, this could backfire spectacularly. Hence the statement from his lawyers:

> One of Mr. Levandowski’s lawyers said the Uber executive’s position on invoking the Fifth Amendment may change as they examine the case.