Quis est beneficium

[Britney]

Latin, where is the benefit? A type of logical fallacy in which one claims one didnt do something bad because it was not in ones interests to do so. An example would be, Why would I steal from the [cash register]? Its going to hurt the business if I do, and then I might lose my job.
The argument is usually used on behalf of someone else: for example, [Ludo] Martens (1995) argues that Stalin could not possibly have massacred millions of Russians because he needed them to fight WW2; [Fogel]