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You're right--the crime of perjury requires someone to lie while under oath, which is what Clapper did.
by cloakandswagger 8y ago
You're right--the crime of perjury requires someone to lie while under oath, which is what Clapper did.
- Broken_Hippo 8y agoNo, it is much more nuanced than that. Giving false information is not the same as lying. With perjury, you have to willingly lie or give misinformation. On purpose. Being honest about not being able to answer a question in an open forum isn't perjury. That is someone trying to follow conflicting laws and erring on the side of caution. If his information was bad and he wasn't aware at the time, it isn't perjury. Misremember but try to answer? Not perjury.
- jrs95 8y agoHe didn’t say he couldn’t answer, he lied about illegal surveillance programs.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- CWuestefeld 8y agoMartha Stewart went to prison for lying to the government even when not under oath - and so have countless other people. This is now standard operating procedure for law enforcement, as it's much easier to catch a person in a random (and possibly unintentional) lie than to prove a real crime.