>It is a crime to lie to federal agents in the course of a criminal investigation. You can avoid committing that crime by not lying to agents. 18 USC Section 1

>It is a crime to lie to federal agents in the course of a criminal investigation. You can avoid committing that crime by not lying to agents. 18 USC Section 1001 is notoriously broad - for example, your local postman is a federal agent, it doesn't just pertain to law enforcement officials. You don't even need to lie directly to the agent - for example if you fudge your hours on a timesheet and that timesheet gets sent to the federal government for some use or other, you "knowingly and willfully made a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the United States." It doesn't matter if you're not under oath. It doesn't matter if you've been read your miranda rights - any material lie that is made to a federal employee within their jurisdiction is an offense. Sadly, this means that in almost every case, the only reasonable thing to do is to refuse to talk to the agent and to ask for an attorney if they insist.