A: No. We would say that, since you’ve set you hand aside, that Secret never enters your hand, so you’re not discarding it from your hand, so as long as you don’t choose it as one of your two cards to play, you don’t get pinned with the crime. To make a long story short, you don’t have to take any penalty! You dodged a bullet, or, in this case, a criminal record or social stigma.

But Draw 2 and Use ‘Em is another matter. You don’t have the option of not playing it, so you’re stuck. You play it, and are caught in the act.