For Feds, 'Lying' Is a Handy Charge

Wall Street Journal ^ | 4/11/12 | JOHN R. EMSHWILLER And GARY FIELDS

[BCrago66]

MONTEREY, Calif.—When federal prosecutors can't muster enough evidence to bring charges against a person suspected of a crime, they can still use a controversial law to get a conviction anyway: They charge the person with lying.

The law against lying—known in legal circles simply as "1001"—makes it a crime to knowingly make a material false statement in matters of federal jurisdiction. Critics across the political spectrum argue that 1001, a widely used statute in the federal criminal code, is open to abuse. It is charged hundreds of times a year, according to court records and interviews with lawyers and legal scholars.

[BCrago66]

We are all criminals under the federal law, and which of us is prosecuted is a matter of the arbitrary discretion of federal prosecutors. § 101 should be abolished, in my opinion; if a lie actually obstructs a criminal investigation, the feds can already prosecute the liar under the "catch-all" obstruction provision 18 USC § 1503.

If we were getting a liberty-appreciating President in 2013, we might have some hope of reforming the federal criminal law. Instead, it looks like we'll get Obama or Romney. Both of these guys are running primarily because they simply enjoy power, and think it's cool to be President.

[driftdiver]

Which is why you shouldn’t say anything.

[BCrago66]

Re my statement that we’re all criminals under the federal law, see “Three Felonies a Day” by Harvey A. Silvergate:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594032556

[muir_redwoods]

If lying in a federal matter is a crime, everyone holding office in DC is going to jail.

[Uncle Ike]

” makes it a crime to knowingly make a material false statement in matters of federal jurisdiction. “

I’m guessing that this somehow doesn’t apply to all of the impossibly rosy (and patently fraudulent) economic reports emanating from the White Hut...

Just sayin’.....

[BCrago66]

Right, and videotape the encounter so the feds cannot lie and say you talked.

BTW, for anyone having trouble, sometimes you can get past the WSJ firewall by googling a sentence from the article within quotation marks, and then clicking the WSJ link to the same story (but it’s likely a violation of federal law.)

[SoFloFreeper]

THANKS for posting. I read this yesterday in the WSJ. The details are scary. I thought of Scooter Libby....it seems this is the kind of bogus charge he was facing. But it also, obviously, can hurt “regular” citizens, too.

[Islander7]

I was once interviewed by an FBI agent investigating my employer. He made a big deal about the penalties of lying to the FBI: 5 years in prison, huge fine. I asked him what the penalty was if he lied to me. He said nothing!!

I ended the interview.

[subterfuge]

Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, Barry Bonds - each convicted of lying and nothing more. Never talk! Ever!

[Roklok]

“Which is why you shouldn’t say anything.”

Yep, Just don’t talk to them, or use the Hillary Clinton ploy of saying, “I don’t recall”.

[snowsislander]

I was once interviewed by an FBI agent investigating my employer. He made a big deal about the penalties of lying to the FBI: 5 years in prison, huge fine. I asked him what the penalty was if he lied to me. He said nothing!!

Lying is a standard tactic taught to law enforcement officers.

Perhaps the most disgusting trick taught to them is "pretext calling".

I think that is especially so when pretext calling is used against children or other naive people who are not aware that one should not answer questions about one's home or possessions just because the caller says that you might win a prize "just for answering a few questions!"

Use of lies such as pretext calls is the same mentality that believes that ends always justifies the means.

[Elle Bee]

Mr. James Duane, a professor at Regent Law School and a former defense attorney, tells you why you should never agree to be interviewed by the police. PART 1

An experienced police officer tells you why you should never agree to be interviewed by the police. Part 2

.

[Elle Bee]

"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men.

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt.

Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." ('Atlas Shrugged') — Ayn Rand 1957)

“What good fortune for governments that the people do not think.” Adolf Hitler

.

[muawiyah]

Actually, yes ~ the FBI agent was absolutely correct.

The point of the law is not to find people to prosecute but to keep honest people honest.

In tens of thousands of conversations over the years with folks who owed USPS money ("postage deficiencies") I never once had to call in the Postal Inspectors because someone lied to me. Didn't mean they didn't lie, but after you're in the business of collecting money for a while you know when evasion happens ~ and once that occurs you've got them where you want them.

They know it. You know it. The bucks pour in!

Less typically you'd encounter somebody who'd had a fraudulent scheme going for many years. They'd surface due to an Inspector's investigation ~ wasn't my job to make a deal with the "bad guys', but to advise the inspector on the current correct interpretation of the regulations ~ to nail down every single little avenue of escape ~ they'd take it from there.

Regarding an FBI agent making a big deal about the penalties, that's probably because they have fewer forms to use. All the USPS financial documents (mailing statements submitted with periodicals, permit imprint, presort or bulk mail rates) have a statement at the bottom concerning the penalty for perjury and the $10,000 fine ~ that'd be on each piece of mail BTW ~ and for folks mailing a million pieces, that's a huge sum!

The mail acceptance personnel don't tell you about it every time you mail something ~ but it's there.

So, who's more obnoxious ~ the FBI or USPS? (when it comes to that "don't lie to the government' law).

[deoetdoctrinae]

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[E. Pluribus Unum]

If you don't say a word to them, they can't charge you with lying, or anything else.

Don't talk to police

[Gaffer]

As much as I hate to say this. When first approached by any agency of the US Government, the best thing to say is “ I’m not saying ANYTHING until I have my lawyer present, period!”

[Daveinyork]

“Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, Barry Bonds - each convicted of lying and nothing more. Never talk! Ever!”

Bill Clinton was convicted of lying under oath. Martha Stewart was convicted of lying for claiming she did not do what she was not ever convicted of doing. I don’t know about Barry Bonds. He’s just a professional athlete.

[BCrago66]

Just confirms my conviction to deal with FedEx or UPS or some other private carrier (should I need to do some bulk mailing), where a contract dispute remains a contract dispute, not a criminal inquiry.

[muawiyah]

Fraudulent misrepresentation is still a crime ~ you can put the rest of your life in the hands of a county courthouse judge or a federal judge.

Doesn't matter to me.

Do you feel lucky?

[Abundy]

Never, under any circumstances whatsoever, speak to law enforcement without an attorney present. And then the only thing that should happen is your attorney tells them that you decline to answer any questions.

Did I mention never utter a word?

[subterfuge]

Barry Bonds was questioned by a congressional committee and he said he didn’t take steroids. He did take steroids but he was not convicted of that...he was convicted of lying to the committee about taking steroids.